


(i've been waiting for the sun to rise where you are, so i can tell you) you're a superstar

by darkrosemind



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Ballet, Dancing, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Relationship, Pen Pals, Pining, Slow Burn, They're in Paris, Traveling, bi character(s), cover art inside!!!, dance au, dianetti, idiots to lovers, mentions of the squad - Freeform, rosa's dark past, some peraltiago on the side
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2019-10-08 16:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 41,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17389424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkrosemind/pseuds/darkrosemind
Summary: Rosa Diaz is a former widely-known ballet dancer. She's still someone widely respected in the world of dance and occasionally helps other dancers get ready for their big moments in the spotlight.Enter Gina Linetti, dancer of all kinds of dance. It's about to be her big moment in the spotlight, and who is about to come in to advise her and help her get ready? That's right; it's the famous former ballerina Rosa Diaz. Though Rosa doesn't dance anymore, she still loves dance and wants to see other dancers successful.But Gina Linetti? She's nothing at all like the other dancers that Rosa has ever met before. And Rosa Diaz has met hundreds of dancers.





	1. welcome back to the world of dance (your worst nightmare for the next week, detective diaz.)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the dianetti fans](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=the+dianetti+fans).



> title from 'superstar' by broods  
> okay, so this is a grand idea that i had (while listening to the song that this work is named after, mind you.) i have no idea where i will be going with this! but hopefully it will be dianetti cuteness!! anyways i've decided for this fic i am going to give the chapter titles very long and ridiculous titles because i'm always open to trying new things sometimes.  
> also i wrote this in microsoft word instead of my usual google docs, so i think it's gonna do the paragraph indents?? or it might be tricking me. but paragraph indents would be nice!! if it works on this, i think i might go back and edit the rest of my fics to have paragraph indents as well.  
> also disclaimer i know nothing about ballet so i don't even know why i'm writing this but once i saw the movie Leap! so that's where we're at.
> 
> ALSO HI!!! 8/6/19 update: this fic now has cover art!!!!!! made by my amazing and talented friend [@staticobra.art](https://www.instagram.com/staticobra.art/?hl=en) on instagram!!!

 

                                                                          

Rosa sighs as she breathes in the fresh air. She looks around; taking in the beautiful scene. It’s not the first time she’s been to Paris, but this city never seems to lose its magic. She pulls her leather jacket tighter around herself and exhales.

It’s been a long flight, and Rosa would love nothing more than to go straight to the hotel room that she has booked and sleep for a couple of hours. However, there is something that she needs to do first. Rosa hails a cab, and flatly instructs the driver of where to take her.

She finally steps out of the cab in front of a grand building. Rosa doesn’t stop to admire the building; she instead briskly starts climbing up the smooth stairs leading into the place.

The guards at the entrance nod at her as she makes her way into the building. Rosa doesn’t acknowledge them and hold her head up high as she gracefully steps into the entrance hall.

“Madame Diaz!” a voice calls. Rosa turns her head to see a tall and lean man walking towards her.

“Sir Ethan,” Rosa acknowledges as he shakes her hand. “You’re keeping this place in fine condition.”

“We are very glad that you were able to make it, Madame Diaz,” Sir Ethan says. “The dancers will be delighted to have you here.”

“Didn’t think I’d be back so soon,” Rosa says, surveying her surroundings.

“Would you like to come and see the dancers rehearse?” Sir Ethan asks.

Rosa shrugs. “I suppose so,” she mutters. Sir Ethan silently glides up the stairs, and Rosa follows. Her boots clack loudly against the marble as she hurries after him.

The Grand Ballet room is in pristine condition. Dozens of ballerinas in pink and purple leotards stretch and warm up. Rosa watches them dance; their hair up in perfect buns and their posture flawless. The sight brings her back to the days when she herself was a dancer. She is thinking about the days she used to dance; a young sixteen year old girl ambitious to dance to the end of the world.

She fell in love with dance when she was just barely ten years old, when her father took her to see The Nutcracker during the Christmas season. Rosa loved watching the dancers jump and twirl in the air. They were so graceful and… beautiful.

And somehow in the future, Rosa Diaz made something of herself in the world of dance. By the time she was in college, she had starred in so many ballets and everyone from the world of dance knew her name. “You’ve joined the world-class dancers now,” her father had said proudly.

But dance had turned her into something else… _someone_ else. Rosa changed herself for her dancing career, and her training and practices were vigorous. She found that she wasn’t enjoying her life as much as she had thought she would. Dance was beautiful, but it just wasn’t it for her anymore. Ballet turned her world dark. She talked to her older sister about it, and they both concluded that Rosa should leave ballet behind and turn to something that was more for her.

However, Rosa didn’t know what she wanted to do. She attended a little bit of medical school. It gave her some good skills, but Rosa wanted more. She went to business school. It turned out that everyone in business school was a snob. She took pilot lessons and got a license. But finally, Rosa enrolled in the police training academy.

Not everyone was a jerk there. She met some great people there. And so, Rosa Diaz became a cop.

It makes her happy; knowing that she is keeping bad guys off of the streets and doing some good for the world. She works at a precinct in Brooklyn, but she finds that she still admires dance. She still has a high status in that world, after all.

So now, Rosa flies all over the world to advise dancers. She watches their ballets and helps them. She helps them in the way that she wishes that she was helped when she was a dancer.

"Rosa Diaz? Is that her?”

The whispers that float through the room whip Rosa out of her trance as she looks up to see the ballerina looking at her.

“Return to your practice,” Sir Ethan barks, and the dancers obediently start their routines again. “Ah, where is Miss Linetti? You never know what to expect from her,” Sir Ethan scowls, stroking the scruffy but well groomed beard on his chin.

“Or am I right here?” A mysterious voice says. Rosa whips around to see a woman no younger than her standing at her side. While all of the other ballerinas have their hair up, this dancer’s reddish-auburn hair is cascading down around her shoulders. She wears a black leotard with silver jewels on it. Her bright blue eyes seem to laugh at Rosa’s stunned expression.

“Miss Linetti. Meet Rosa Diaz. She was one of the world’s best ballet dancers—” Sir Ethan begins.

“Yeah, yeah. I know who she is,” Miss Linetti says. “Everyone in this room does.”

Rosa chooses to ignore Miss Linetti’s words. “So you’re the star in this ballet,” she states blandly. Miss Linetti laughs.

“That’s me! I’m Gina Linetti, and I’m a _star._ So, I hear you have some tips and tricks for me, huh?” Gina says, surveying Rosa closely.

“Uh, right,” Rosa says, staring right back at Gina.

Sir Ethan waves a hand dismissively. “You may use the Crystal Room. Miss Linetti show Madame Diaz the way,” he instructs.

“You got it,” Gina says. “Follow me, _Madame Diaz.”_

Rosa rolls her eyes at the formality and follows Gina out of the room. Gina has a little skip to her step, which Rosa finds a little amusing. “Just so you know, the Crystal Room isn’t made out of crystals. I know, it was a big disappointment when I first found out,” Gina says as they walk along.

“Good to know,” Rosa mutters as Gina pushes the door of a room open.

“So, Rosa Diaz, what have you got for me? You gonna criticize my posture or something, darling?” Gina asks, which totally throws Rosa off of her cool game.

“What?” she asks, furrowing her brow.

“Oh, you know that I’m not afraid of you? You don’t intimidate me. I know people far more famous than you,” Gina says, examining a nail. Rosa frowns, choosing to ignore everything that has just come out of this arrogant dancer’s mouth.

“You don’t have an accent," Rosa notes. "Where are you from, originally?”

“Grew up in Queens. That’s how you know that I was born to be a queen,” Gina says. “You, Diaz, live not so far away from that. You live in Brooklyn.”

Rosa resists refuting Gina’s claim. Instead, she asks, “how did you know that?”

"I have the internet at my disposal,” Gina says. “You wouldn’t believe what I know about some people.”

“Is information about me really right out in the open for anyone to see like that?” Rosa asks in disbelief. Gina laughs.

“Nah. I had to do a lot of digging on you,” she says.

Rosa lets out a sigh of relief. “Good,” she says.

“You’re a private person, aren’t you,” Gina smiles. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone," she promises.

“Whatever. Show me your routine. Music,” Rosa orders. Three minutes later, she’s watching Gina pirouette through the air with a little bit of awe. When Gina finishes, Rosa turns the awed look on her face to a blank one.

“Well?” Gina prompts.

Rosa doesn’t give out compliments very often, but she’s severely tempted. Instead, Rosa tilts her head. “You should work on your posture when you spin.”

Gina crosses her arms. “Really. Why don’t you show me how it’s done, Diaz?”

“I don’t dance anymore.”

“Fine. I’ll do it again, and you tell me what to do and when,” Gina says. Without bothering to turn on the music, she starts dancing again, but slower this time.

“Wait, stop,” Rosa says. She walks closer to Gina. “Straighten your back,” she says, and Gina does so without breaking eye contact. “Move your arm like…” Rosa trails off. She’s not sure how to explain to Gina, and she doesn’t want to demonstrate. “Can I—” Rosa’s fingers linger over Gina’s bare arm.

Gina nods. “Show me how it’s done, genius.”

Rosa moves Gina’s arm higher. “Don’t point your fingers upwards. It looks better when they’re pointed downwards, with your hand kind of curving down,” she says.

“Like this?” Gina asks, following Rosa’s instructions. Rosa nods, and then seems to notice that her hand is still on Gina’s arm. She quickly withdraws her hand and stuffs it into her jacket pocket.

“You know, I actually didn’t start as a ballet dancer,” Gina says. “I’ve done a lot of styles of dance over the years. Tap, break, street… what about you?”

“Only ballet,” Rosa says.

“How’d you start? I mean, god forbid that the mysterious Rosa Diaz open up to me, but I’m just curious,” Gina says nonchalantly. Rosa squints at her.

“I thought you did thorough research on me. Don’t you know everything already?” Rosa asks

“No,” Gina lies.

“I saw The Nutcracker. It drew me to ballet and I was just really good at it,” Rosa shrugs.       

“Why’d you stop?” Gina questions.

There is no way in hell Rosa wants to open up to this dancer that she hasn’t even known for more than an hour. She simply lifts her shoulders up and down in response.

“You know, I’ve seen videos of you dancing. You were really good, like no wonder you’re a legend in the dance community,” Gina tells her. Rosa isn’t sure if she should politely say thank you and then get the hell out of the building, or if she should open up to Gina.

Well, she already has Gina’s word to keep everything about her a secret. So Rosa figures that talking a little bit couldn’t hurt too much.

“Dance wasn’t it for me,” she states. Gina looks up, surprised. Rosa sighs and walks to the other side of the room. She slides down onto the floor and sits against the wall.

Gina walks closer to her and sits down next to her. “What do you mean?” she asks, looking at Rosa, who tucks a curl behind her ear. Rosa takes a deep breath before she begins talking.

“It just didn’t make me as happy as I thought it would. Sure, I got to dance some big parts, but it wasn’t enough,” she says.

“So what did you do?” Gina asks.

“I explored some other fields. Went to college. I found a job that makes me happy. I joined—”

“The NYPD,” Gina finishes. “Detective Rosa Diaz, badge number 3118. I have a friend who works in the NYPD."

Rosa stares at her for a few moments. “You know, the fact that you know my badge number is kinda scary,” she finally says, breaking the ice. “I mean, sometimes _I_ don’t even remember my badge number,” she jokes. Gina grins. They sit together against the cold wall of the Crystal Room for a few more minutes in silence.

“So, you’re coming to my ballet next week, right?” Gina finally asks.

“Why else would I be here. That was the whole point of this trip,” Rosa says.

“Cool to know that I drew the famous Rosa Diaz out of her hiding place in Brooklyn and to the wonderful city of Paris,” Gina says.

Rosa cracks a smile. “Don’t take it personally. I do this for a lot of dancers.”

“Oh, so you’re a softie on the inside, aren’t you?” Gina teases.

“Never," Rosa says.

“So I _will_ be seeing you every day until the show, right?” Gina asks. “Because you’re supposed to work your expert magic on me to make me even better for the role than I already am.”

“Something like that,” Rosa agrees.

“And for that purpose, Rosa Diaz, I think I deserve to get your number,” Gina says confidently. Rosa stares at her in surprise.

“Did you just try to get my number?” she asks directly.

“For business purposes, yes,” Gina defends. Rosa smiles in spite of herself and reaches into her pocket to grab her phone. She looks up to see Gina with a phone in her hand… “Dude, your leotard has no pockets. Where do you _store_ that?”

Gina laughs. “Don’t worry about that,” she says, and hands the phone to Rosa. Rosa takes it hesitantly and types her number into the phone. She hands it back to Gina afterwards.

“Okay, then. I'm really looking forward to dancing with you, Rosa Diaz,” Gina winks. She gets up and off of the floor and crossed the room and leaves.

Rosa sits alone on the floor, breathless for some reason. Was Gina Linetti just flirting with her?

               


	2. time to get unprofessional and deal with a ton of unwanted feelings big oof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the summary is in the title. i don't know how to write summaries. i just wanna put something in this little summary box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah that's right there's DRAMA in this now. i also wanted to write oc more villainous, but i guess i just don't have it in me?? sdsdf i'm not a good writer okay i wrote this in between doing a lot of things and it was very rushed so just,,, i don't know?? read it and go easy on me?

                                                                                      

After a moment of sitting on the floor and contemplating her entire trip to Paris, Rosa finally picks herself off of the ground and exits the Crystal Room, intending to catch a cab back to her hotel.

Apparently, Gina Linetti is heading out as well. Rosa catches sight of her walking a few feet ahead of her. A dancer skirts across the floor and to Gina’s side. “What's she like?” Rosa hears the dancer ask eagerly.

“None of your business,” Gina says directly. The dancer lets out an impatient huff and walks away. Rosa nearly smiles; Gina kept her promise of secrecy. They're going to have no problem getting along in the next week, then.

Rosa waits for Gina to exit the building before she leaves. She is about to hail a taxi when she hears her name being called. “Rosa?”

Rosa whips around, expecting to see a dancer asking for her autograph or a picture or something of the sort. Instead, she is met by yes, a dancer, but one that she recognizes from years ago. The dancer's startling electric blue eyes hit Rosa by surprise and take her on a mini roller coaster of feelings in her mind.

“Rosa,” the dancer says, smiling at her ever so slightly.

“Gracie,” Rosa acknowledges with a nod. The dancer is in a leotard and skirt. Her silky black hair is pulled up into a ponytail and her large eyes light up when Rosa says her name. Gracie nearly reminds Rosa of Wonder Woman; the way she puts her hands on her hips and smirks up at her. If Wonder Woman was a ballerina, she’d look like Gracie.

“Wow, imagine running into you here! It’s been years, hasn’t it?” Gracie says cheerfully.

Rosa isn’t sure how to respond. She and Gracie have quite some history, and Rosa isn’t sure is she wants to remember it.

It had been the first time someone didn’t return the feeling that she had for them, and it had been quite the punch to the face for her when Gracie had told her that she didn’t like Rosa back. Needless to say, they hadn’t kept in touch.

"Yeah,” Rosa replies. “Years.”

“Well, I imagine you’re here for the big ballet next week, right?” Gracie asks.

“Yeah. You too?” Rosa asks.

"Yup. I have a part in it,” Gracie informs her.

“Cool,” Rosa says awkwardly.

“So, uh,” Gracie starts, “Since you’re here, you wanna grab a drink or dinner or something later?”

Gracie’s offer takes Rosa aback. “Uh, yeah. Sure,” Rosa says, ever so slightly overwhelmed.

“Cool. You have my number. I’m single,” Gracie says. She reaches out and puts a hand on Rosa’s shoulder before turning and walking back into the building.

Rosa blinks. Things have certainly changed since the last time she saw Gracie. Rosa takes a deeps breath and gets into the cab, quickly feeding the driver the hotel address. She is dropped off at the hotel in no time and grabs her key card, intending to take a short nap before doing whatever she is going to do next.

Her luggage has already been dropped off in her room, courtesy of… she doesn’t know who, actually. Rosa flops down onto the bed and looks at her phone. She finds Gracie’s number in her phone and sends her a quick text:  


**Rosa: we could get a drink tonight**  


Rosa turns off her phone and wiggles under the covers, getting comfortable. She closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep from exhaustion, jet lag, and the overwhelming bisexual panic that had previously occurred multiple times that day.

She wakes up a few hours later and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. Her legs are stiff, so Rosa rolls out of bed to stand up and stretch. She opens her phone to see a couple of new texts.  


**Gracie: sure!! i’ll text u the address** **🙂**  


Rosa has also received a text from Gina:  


**Gina: hey u wanna get a drink later tonight??** **😉**

 **Rosa: maybe later? i’m busy tonight**  


There are also a few texts from Jake Peralta, her coworker back in the NYPD.  


**Jake: heyyy rosa how u enjoyin ur vaca?? where r u anywayssss** **🤔🤔🤔😀😀**

**Jake: wait lemme guess r u in canada los angeles texas wisconsin florida??**

**Jake: if ur in florida ur in trouble bc u kno i wanna go 2 disney**

**Jake: rosaaaaaaaaa im boooooooreddddd** **😎😀😁🤣😃😑😛**

**Rosa: jake it’s very late in brooklyn go to sleep you have work tomorrow**

**Jake: so ur not in brooklyn!! aha!!** **😆😅😊😋😎🙂🤩🤗🤨😐😏😀😁😁😂**  


Rosa sighs and turns off her phone. She decides to change out of her stiff jeans and opts for a nice black dress, but she keeps her leather jacket on.

A while later, she’s sitting at a bar and doing shots with Gracie. She’s _laughing._ It’s been a quite while since Rosa’s experienced anything like this, so she’s thoroughly enjoying getting drunk with her ex-crush and oversharing stupid cop stories.

But then Gracie’s lips are suddenly on hers, and they’re sloppily kissing. Rosa doesn’t know what she’s feeling, so she just goes along with it. This is exactly what she would’ve wanted _years_ ago. To kiss Gracie in Paris and laugh with her and tell her stories.

But things have _changed_. Rosa isn’t sure if she wants this right now. Rosa doesn’t know if she even has feelings for Gracie anymore. She pushes Gracie away and sits on her stool feeling quite numbly.

Gracie laughs. “That was so much fun!!! Better than I expected,” she slurs. She’s much more drunk that Rosa, and suddenly Rosa feels quite terribly. "You know, I wasn't sure about this, but you're actually a good kisser!! Should've been gay years ago," Gracie murmurs. Rosa's cheeks turn pink, not quite sure if she is hearing Gracie correctly.

“You’re going home,” Rosa quickly decides.

“And what, you’re not coming with me?” Gracie giggles. Rosa takes a deep breath and then pulls Gracie off of the bar stool by her arm. She walks Gracie out of the bar and to the street, where she gets a taxi for Gracie.

After Gracie is safely gone, Rosa heads back into the bar. She pulls out her cell phone and texts Gina.

Five minutes later, Gina has arrived at the bar and is sitting next to a very drunk Rosa. She orders a glass of whiskey. “Hey, Diaz,” Gina says.

“I’m so stupid,” Rosa groans, dropping her head down onto the counter. Gina stares at her.

]“You are _very_ drunk,” Gina decides. “I like it.”

“She was just there, you know? And it was like because I like you know I _liked_ her before but I don’t know about now and then she was just there and then she kissed me! And I let her!” Rosa rambles. Her hair messily falls into her face and her cheeks are flushed. She is evidently extremely intoxicated.

Gina is staring at her with wide eyes. “Oh? Who?”

“Gracie! It was so _stupid!_ I can’t believe I kissed her!” Rosa mumbles.

“Wait,” Gina says, holding up a hand. “ _Gracie?_ You kissed _Gracie?_ Bi-curious Gracie? _That_ Gracie? The one who’s gonna be in the ballet next week?”

“Yes,” Rosa says, picking her head up and squinting at Gina. “Bi-curious? What do you mean?”

“Gracie experiments. A lot,” Gina says. “I’ve known her for a while, Rosa. You’re not her only victim of experimentation.”

“Victim? I was an _experiment?”_ Rosa groans. “Of course. Of _course_. I’m such an _idiot!_ ”

Gina lays a reassuring hand on Rosa’s arm. “Don’t worry, Diaz. I’ve been there too.”

“You have? You kissed Gracie too?” Rosa murmurs sleepily.

“I’ve kissed a lot of people. Gracie just happens to be one of them. Hey, look! We have something in common now, Diaz! We’ve both kissed Gracie!” Gina says.

"Ha-ha,” Rosa mumbles sarcastically. “Did you also have a crush on her from the days you used to dance in ballets with her and then she ruthlessly rejected you when you told her that you might have had a small tiny itsy-bitsy crush on her? _Why,_ Gina? She looks like Wonder Woman. Why is she _like_ that? Like she said she was straight and she was also slightly homophobic back then and now she's turned it into a  _game?"_

“Rosa, forget about her,” Gina says sternly. “You’re in goddamn Paris, and you are not gonna mope over a girl that you liked years ago,” she tells Rosa. "But... she does look sorta like Wonder Woman."

Rosa sits up. “You’re right. I gotta be in the moment! Hey, did I ever tell you about the time this guy took a knife and then put it—”

“As much as I would love to hear this story, you are very drunk, and I should make sure that you get home safely,” Gina says. “All right. Come on." Gina pulls Rosa up by the arm and gets Rosa up and out of the bar. Rosa gazes at Gina before getting into the cab.

“Will I ever see you again, beautiful stranger?” Rosa mumbles wistfully.

Gina nearly rolls her eyes. “Yes, Rosa. You will see me every day for the next week. Keep it in your pants and stop quoting Romeo and Juliet. Also, bye. It was really fun to see you get drunk.”

Rosa nearly turns sober for a moment. “Don’t tell anyone,” she orders sharply before falling back into the cab and waving goodbye to Gina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried making gracie more evil-like but i just COULDN'T okay she looks like wonder woman. sorry. anyways just needed to add a little bit of drama because... i felt like it,, okay? i didn't know what to write. it was a gap-filler. don't worry gracie will be back perhaps. i i want.  
> talk 2 me on tumblr: @darkrosemind


	3. so gina linetti really went off. huh. what a feisty and amazing person. i love her.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not that much happens. except for me establishing a few more things in the story line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm glad you're still reading this!! thanks!!

                                                                                       

Rosa arrives at the dance academy the next morning flustered and hungover. She has little recollection of the previous night’s events, but they come back to her with every step she takes towards the Crystal Room. Every fiber in Rosa’s body screams for her to turn around and leave the building, but she doesn’t.

She pushes open the door of the Crystal Room to see Gina Linetti stretching. Rosa awkwardly scratches the back of her neck as she stands in the doorway.

“Come on in,” Gina ushers Rosa, standing up. She is wearing a black leotard over pink tinted tights, and Rosa’s eyes can’t help but trail down to her legs for a moment. Gina clears her throat and Rosa’s gaze whips up again. She slightly grimaces and puts a hand to her head.

“You must be pretty badly hungover,” Gina sympathizes. “You need an aspirin? I’ve got one in my purse.”

Rosa accepts the aspirin with as much grace as she can. “Thank you. So, we don’t speak about last night because it was very unprofessional and it will never happen again,” she orders.

Gina pouts for a moment. “Is it _never_ gonna happen again? C’mon, Diaz, it was kinda fun.”

“Fun for _you,_ not for me,” Rosa points out. She walks to the other side of the room by a balance beam, reaching out and touching it for a moment before turning back to Gina. “Miss Linetti, I expect professionalism throughout this ballet process,” Rosa says quite stiffly.

Gina pulls a face. “All I’m hearing is fancy words and no actual sense,” she says. “You sure you’re okay, Rosa?”

“You can address me as ‘Diaz’ and nothing else,” Rosa says sharply.

“But Rosie, I thought we were vibing!” Gina protests. “C’mon.”

“Turn on the music and show me your routine,” Rosa orders, and that is the end of it. Gina rolls her eyes when Rosa looks away for a moment and turns on the music. She starts dancing, taking glances at Rosa every few seconds.

“You’re not even watching,” Gina says with a hurt expression on her face after a moment. Rosa winces and rubs her eyes.

“I am now. Just keep dancing, please,” Rosa snaps. Gina bites her lip and takes a deep breath, continuing her routine.

“So?” Gina asks after the music is stopped. She looks expectantly at Rosa, who stares back at her.

“So what?” Rosa says.

"Do you have any feedback?”

Rosa scrunches up her forehead and tries to think of something to tell Gina. After a moment, she looks up at the dance. “You’ve improved your posture,” Rosa attempts.

Gina scoffs angrily. “Seriously? That’s all you came up with? Look, _Diaz,_ I now hate this as much as you do, but—"

“I don’t hate this!” Rosa insists.

“Yeah, I can really tell. You seem like you hate it. You’re certainly _acting_ like you hate it. I know you don’t wanna be here and watch some dumb amateur like _me_ dance, because I’m not as good as you are, because _no one_ is as good as you are. So why are you still here, huh? Just go home, Diaz,” Gina goes off. Her face is flushed and wisps of hair that have escaped from her ponytail fall around her face.

Rosa silently stands where she is, stunned. She stares at Gina with wide eyes and then takes a deep breath. “I don’t get it—” she starts, attempting to find some way to come to a truce with this fiery woman.

“I do. You’re too good to be here, to mentor some dancer like me. Just leave, will you?” Gina says, crossing her arms. “I don’t need your help.”

“I never said you did—” Rosa mumbles. Gina shoots her a look and Rosa looks to the ground, slowly walking towards the door.

Once she’s left the room, her anger catches up to her. She furiously walks through the hallways with her fists clenched. The few students that she walks past quickly scurry out of her way upon recognizing her face.

“Hey, Rosa!” a familiar voice calls behind her. Rosa tries to resist the urge to not look back, but she turns around for a split second anyways. It’s Gracie. Of course. Right when Rosa is at her lowest, _this_ girl has to show up.

“Last night was fun,” Gracie continues. “You ever wanna do that again? Maybe take it a little further—” Gracie walks with a little bounce to her step, which for some reason deeply irritates Rosa.

"If you’re looking for a one-night stand, then I’m not it,” Rosa barks. She looks straight ahead of her as she walks, holding her head up high.

“I thought you were into me, though,” Gracie protests, matching Rosa’s walking pace.

Rosa stops walking and turns to Gracie. Gracie stumbles a little bit as she stops in her step. “That was years ago, when you were a homophobic bitch. And when I told you, you certainly didn’t like it. I’m not looking for what you’re looking for,” Rosa tells her with blazing eyes.

"Fine,” Gracie shrugs. “You wanna do the whole dating thing? We can try—”

“Nope. I don’t want to do the whole dating thing. At least, not with you,” Rosa says, trying to enjoy the dumbfounded expression on Gracie’s face. It feels inexplicably  good to turn down Gracie when Gracie had turned Rosa down years before. Rosa turns and starts walking towards the exit, leaving Gracie to confusedly stand in the hallway.

Rosa turns out of the building and catches a taxi. She speaks a few words of fluent French to the cab driver and then gets in. Rosa isn’t sure what to do, but she really just wants to vent to someone.

Rosa takes a deep breath and pulls out her cell phone, dialing Detective Jake Peralta. He picks up after a few beats.

“Rosa? It’s like four in the morning,” Jake says, his speech slurred with sleep.

Rosa halfheartedly apologizes and then starts talking. “Dude, so I’m somewhere, and there’s this _person,_ and I think I’d like to be friends with them, but they’re mad at me for some reason. And I don’t know what to do,” Rosa says with frustration, thinking about Gina Linetti.

“Oh, Rosa’s opening up to me!” Jake says gleefully on the other end. "Can't believe you're asking me for advice!  _Me_ of all people! I'm a mess!"

“Shut up,” Rosa says bossily. “Can you help me or not?”

“Well, I have this friend,” Jake starts. “She’s kinda… not crazy, but different from most people. In a good way. But whenever we would get into a fight, which was not that often, mind you, she would always throw me a party and put glitter in my hair and we’d be cool after that. I haven’t seen her in a long time, but we talk on the phone a lot,” Jake explains.

Rosa frowns. “I don’t care about your personal life,” she informs Jake. “So are you just saying that I should put glitter in this person’s hair? What kind of a person is your friend?”

"Maybe,” Jake says. “My friend is really cool, by the way. Also, can I go now? I only have like four more hours of sleep before I have to go into _work.”_ He drags out the last word and sighs. “Maybe _I_ should take a vaca.”

“Maybe,” Rosa says thoughtfully. She hangs up and stares out of the window of the cab.

She had been talking about Gina Linetti, obviously. But what she _didn’t_ know is that the friend that Jake had been talking about is also Gina Linetti.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mic drop


	4. sometimes i'm not sure about the way you think, but i like it anyways because it's what makes you YOU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa does her best to win back Gina's friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fairly proud of this chapter. liked writing it. had an 8.5/10 experience while writing it.

                                                                                           

Rosa’s just a little bit mad at Gina too. Not as mad as Gina is at her, but nevertheless still mad. Gina shouldn’t have just gone off at her like that. Rosa is still supposed to be her mentor and Rosa doesn’t care if Gina likes that or not.

(Actually, she does care. Just a little bit.)

But her main priority is strengthening Gina’s dancing before the big show. And for that to happen, Rosa needs to get on Gina’s good side.

She doesn’t know _how_ to. Jake’s advice had been utterly useless. And Rosa doesn’t exactly have great people skills. Smiling is so _difficult_ and Rosa just can’t bring herself to do it all the time.

Rosa lets out a huff of irritated breath as she finds herself at a quaint pâtisserie. Rosa wanders for a little bit before she grabs a chocolate dipped éclair. Before she changes her mind, she quickly grabs one for Gina Linetti and pays for the treats in euros.

So Rosa ends up walking up the steps of the grand ballet building clutching a white paper bag of éclairs. She makes her way into the entrance hall before seeing Sir Ethan walking towards her at a brisk pace. Rosa stuffs the bag into her jacket as he approaches her.

“Madame Diaz,” he says courteously and swiftly kisses her hand.

“Sir Ethan,” Rosa replies formally. “Is Miss Linetti still in the Crystal Room?”

“Ah, no. She has moved to the _Diamond_ Room, a very grand and beautiful ball room if I must say so myself, and she is practicing her dance with Milton,” Sir Ethan informs her.

“Milton?” Rosa lifts an eyebrow. “Who’s Milton?”

“Sir Milton Boyle, but of course,” Sir Ethan says. “He’s one of our most wonderful dancers. He’s got everything—grace, poise, elegance; he’s a wonderful element to the ballet.”

“Boyle?” Rosa mutters under her breath. “Oh, well. I’ll see you around, Ethan.” Rosa turns and starts walking down one of the wide hallways, pausing at a directory map of the building. She quickly locates the Diamond Room and marches along her way.

Throughout her walk, there is a name echoing throughout her mind: Charles Boyle. Detective Charles Boyle works alongside her in the NYPD and also has a blatant crush on her. He’s also kind of a—how does Rosa say this nicely? A doofus. But he’s a great guy.

Rosa would be ready to shoot herself if Milton Boyle is in any way related to Charles. The last thing she needs is for her precinct in Brooklyn to find out that she’s a famous former dancer.

But as she swings through the door of the Diamond Room, Rosa’s breath stops short. There is soft music playing and a blond guy—Milton Boyle, she realizes—dances gracefully with Gina Linetti. He’s tall and nicely built. Attractive.

There is no way he can be related to Charles Boyle.

Rosa watches them dance from the doorway. They’re so elegant and their movement is so elegantly beautiful—Milton twirls Gina around and Rosa catches a glimpse of a smile on Gina’s face. Neither of them have noticed Rosa yet.

They continue the routine; gliding along the smooth floor and jumping and dancing like a pair of stallions in the wind. At the end, Milton and Gina pull each other into a tight hug. Rosa drops her eyes down to the floor.

“Wait.” Milton’s voice finally echoes in the large room, and Rosa looks up. “Is that—are you—” he looks at Gina and then back to Rosa. Rosa catches sight of Gina frowning. “Are you famous ballerina dancer Rosa Diaz?”

“ _Ex_ ballerina dancer,” Gina cuts in. “And she’s not that great.” Gina shoots Rosa a hard glare. Rosa sighs and bites her lip.

“Milton—” Rosa begins.

"She knows my name!” Milton whispers with excitement to Gina.

"Will you please give me a moment alone with Miss Linetti?”

“Of course, Rosa Diaz.” Milton bows awkwardly, stepping towards the exit. “Anything for you, Rosa Diaz. You’re even more cool in real life. I’m a big fan.” He salutes at her and then steps out of the Diamond Room, shutting the doors behind him.

Gina sneers. “So formal, _Diaz._ You suck. Oh, and Milton’s not usually like that. He’s cooler in real life.”

“I’m sure he is,” Rosa answers curtly.

“Can you quit it with the formalities? I’m sick of you being all professional!” Gina snaps. “Why are you even here? I thought I made it clear that I— _we_ —don’t need your help.”

“I’m here because I think you do,” Rosa says. She immediately winces after saying this. “Uh, what I mean is that I think that I could help you?” she sighs and pulls the bag of éclairs out of her jacket.

“What’s that?” Gina asks, eyeing the bag with scrutiny.

Rosa holds the bag up. “A peace offering, I guess,” she mumbles. She walks closer to Gina and opens the bag.

Gina continues to squint at Rosa.

Rosa hands her an éclair. “Are we okay?”

“Rosa, there are patisseries here that are _much_ better than the one you got these half-assed éclairs from. You really haven’t been to Paris in a long time, have you? It’s really showing,” Gina says. Nevertheless, she bites into the éclair.

Rosa cracks a smile as she begins to eat her own éclair. “So I can help you, right?” she clarifies.

Gina shrugs. “Yeah, why not. You saw me and Milton dancing, right?” she asks, wiping the  corner of her mouth with her arm. Rosa nods. “So hit me with it. How was it? How can you make us _better?”_

“I—I’m not sure,” Rosa admits quite honestly. “You guys were… perfect. Flawless. It was beautiful.”

Gina smirks. “I’m afraid that flattery isn’t gonna work, Diaz. You should dance, you know. It would be a good color on you.” She pats Rosa on the shoulder and Rosa just slightly frowns.

“What do you mean?”

“You _really_ wanna make me a better dancer? Teach me. _Hands on._ Dance with me, Rosa. After all, you are supposed to be one of the greatest ballet dancers in all of history. We only have a few more days,” Gina proposes.

Rosa’s breath stops short and she stares at Gina for a few minutes. “What? I—I don’t know—” she looks at Gina’s intensive gaze and something just breaks inside of her. “Okay. Fine,” Rosa gives in.

Gina grins widely and claps ecstatically a few times. “Great! This is gonna be so much fun, Diaz.”

Rosa stands there, shell-shocked. She hasn’t seen the last of her own dancing after all.


	5. she's not sure if she's ready to dance, but whatever it's gonna be, it has to be good.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She doesn't even know it, but both of Rosa's worlds are colliding. Is she going to return to dance? Or is she... not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy i wrote this chapter in my sleep last night. literally. i dreamed this chapter. and then i woke up in the middle of the night, grabbed a pack of sticky notes off of my bedside, and wrote the main gist of it down in the moonlight.

                                                                                           

Back in Brooklyn, Jake Peralta stands next to Sergeant Terry Jeffords’s desk. “Ugh, this case is _unsolvable,”_ he complains, holding a case file to his chest. Terry raises his eyebrow as Jake continues. “I mean, I know I’ll solve it eventually but I’m gonna say that it’s unsolvable for effect.”

“Try checking the security cams again,” Terry suggests.

“I’ve already done that like a million times, Terry! What a garbage suggestion. I wish Rosa was here. She could help me out with this case,” Jake mutters, taking the case file and walking away. Terry shrugs and returns to his computer.

“Hey, Charles,” Jake asks, squinting at Charles’s computer screen. “Whatcha doing there?”

Charles turns around and beckons Jake over. “Look. There’s this crazy big ballet in Paris next week! It’s an original; called ‘Les Mouches de Colibri,’ which roughly translates to ‘The Hummingbird Flies.’ My cousin Milton has a big part in it. I’m thinking of flying out to Paris to see it! Is that crazy?”

“Ah,” Jake says, raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t know that the Boyles were dancers too.”

“We’re not!” Charles says eagerly. “Milton is just the odd one out. Sometimes, I think he’s adopted! Which he probably is!” Charles switches his computer tab to an airlines site. “I mean, these tickets are _crazy_ expensive to Paris on such a short notice. Milton could probably get me a discount on the actual ballet ticket, but I don’t know if I can afford this!”

“I have a friend who’s dabbling a little bit in ballet,” Jake says. “I think she might be in Paris. Either that, or she’s in London.”

“Cool! So we’re both connected to the world of ballet, Jake! That’s yet another thing that we have in common!” Charles says ecstatically.

“Hey, when do you think Rosa’s coming back?” Jake asks.

Charles shrugs. “I have no idea where she is, but I’m excited for her to come back! It feels like something’s _missing_  in the bullpen without her being here!”

Jake nods. “Yeah, she called me at like _four_ in the morning today,” he says. “So I think she’s definitely in a different time zone.” He shrugs. “Or she’s doing that to throw me off. Could be either one.”

"Oooh, what did she say?” Charles asks eagerly.

"Just something about making a new friend who was _mad_ at her? Which is bizarre, I know! Rosa can like easily _scare_ anyone into becoming friends with her!” Jake tells him.

Charles nods. “That’s how it felt like when I became friends with her! So, I don’t think I can go to Milton’s ballet, which kind of _sucks._ Milton’s gonna be so disappointed. I better call him.”

In Paris, it’s about four in the afternoon and Rosa and Gina are still hanging out in the grand ballet building. Rosa is doing her best to stall for time as she tries to prepare herself to dance once again. Currently, they are in the middle of an incredibly amusing tour of the building conducted by Gina.

Rosa had nearly _begged_ for Gina to give her this tour. Gina finally gave in, saying something about live-tweeting it.

“This is my favorite room,” Gina says, pushing open a door. Rosa stares.

“The janitor’s closet?”

“Yeah,” Gina shrugs. “There’s privacy, and no one really comes here that often. It’s a good place to… get away, you know? Besides, I’ve added a few of my own touches.” She steps aside to reveal scented candles and a beanbag chair.

“Yeah,” Rosa says thoughtfully. “I get that.” She thinks of her secret bathroom back at work in Brooklyn. It’s a place that Rosa can always escape to when everything is just getting to be too much.

They continue the rest of the tour, until Gina leads her down a narrow hallway. “Roof access,” Gina says, and runs forward to start climbing the ladder leading out to the roof.

“This is _dangerous,_ ” Rosa says as she follows Gina. The large roof slopes down in elegant curves. Gina simply laughs and slides down it.

“It’s really not!” she exclaims. “Come on, Diaz! Have some fun! I thought you were _daring!_ ”

“I—I am!” Rosa shouts after her. “This isn’t dangerous for me, it’s dangerous for _you!_ ” She hoists her legs over the roof and slides down to meet Gina on a flatter area of the roof. “You know, because you have a big dance to be a part of. Not that I care or anything.” She brushes her hands on her jeans and looks out to where Gina is gazing.

“I come here a lot. It’s really nice,” Gina says. A gust of wind blows through and sends Rosa’s hair fluttering in the air behind her. Rosa notices Gina shivering in her thin leotard and watches as Gina wraps her arms around herself. Rosa shrugs off her own jacket, exposing her bare arms. She puts the jacket around Gina’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” Gina mumbles, looking up at Rosa.

“It’s beautiful,” Rosa says, looking out to the city.

“Yeah, it is.”

They stand on the roof in silence for a few more minutes before Rosa clears her throat and thinks a little bit to herself. She’s in Paris and she’s—

She’s ready to dance.

“How…” Rosa looks around in confusion. “How do we get back?”

“Follow me,” Gina says. She leads Rosa down a few steps and then starts walking across a narrow strip of the roof with her arms held out. Rosa watches with wide eyes, fearing for Gina’s safety. Gina’s still got her jacket on and she delicately walks across and beckons for Rosa to follow.

As Rosa steps onto the narrow strip, she becomes a little more nervous. She’s wearing heeled boots and she hasn’t done anything like this in a while. “You’ll be fine!” Gina encourages. Rosa nods and continues to carefully walk on the roof.

Somehow, they finally find their way back to the Diamond Room. Gina pulls off Rosa’s jacket and hands it to her. “So, you ready to dance?” she asks the dark-haired woman.

Rosa nods, taking her jacket from Gina and throwing it into a corner. She straightens her back. “Let me warm up,” Rosa says and begins stretching. She kicks her heels off and slides along the smooth floor in her black socks.

Gina turns on some soft music. Suddenly, Rosa’s leaping through the air and twisting her body and twirling and running and jumping. She’s _dancing._

Gina can’t take her eyes off of Rosa. Rosa is _glowing._ She’s an _amazing_ dancer. Gina can’t believe that Rosa hasn’t danced for years; it simply can’t be true. Rosa’s dancing like a full-time ballerina who practices every single day.

Gina bites her lip as her phone buzzes in her hand. She ignores it and continues to watch Rosa “warm up.” The woman isn’t just warming up; she’s full on dancing. Witch grace, with elegance, with beauty.

“Why’d you ever stop?” Gina murmurs under her breath as Rosa pirouettes through the air.

Rosa finally stops dancing and turns back to Gina, breathless. “Should’ve tied my hair up,” she says as she brushes a few strands out of her face. “Wait,” she mutters, listening to the music a little bit more closely. “Is this Demi Lovato?”

Gina shrugs. “Not the point. Girl, you are _amazing._ That was—and I don’t say this very often—but that was one of the _best_ things I’ve ever seen. _You_ should be dancing in the ballet next week.”

“Listen to me, Gina,” Rosa says, coming closer to Gina. She stares intensely into Gina’s eyes. “ _No_ one can find out that I’m dancing again, okay? You have to keep this a secret or else who knows what could happen.”

Gina nearly cowers under Rosa’s intimidation. “Got it, got it,” she mutters. “I won’t tell. Damn, you’ve got an intense stare, girl.” Gina glances up into Rosa eyes, noticing a few flecks of light brown against the darker color of her iris.

Rosa moves away from Gina. “Good. This is between you and me, then.” She clears her throat and takes a deep breath. “Let’s dance.”


	6. can't tell if i'm falling in love with you or if i'm falling back in love with ballet??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa might start to catch some FEELINGS for Gina Linetti, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i've decided that this is by far the best au that i have ever written. yeah i like it EVEN better than my high school au series!! i actually got the idea for this in my art class (while drawing andy samberg huyghuyghu) and i was listening to 'superstar' by broods like on repeat because i was in love with that song at the time!! (listen to it it's wonderful) and then of course my brain was like "how can we turn this into something dianetti??" and so that's how this story was born!!

                                                                                                  

Rosa’s bracing herself to dance with Gina when she glances at her phone. She has a few texts from Jake but she decides to open them up later.

“Do you even know Milton’s part?” Gina asks, interrupting Rosa’s train of thought.

Rosa shrugs. “I watched you guys. You just dance your part and I’ll do what I know of his,” she says.

“Okay, but you know there’s a part where he lifts me in the air—”

“Not a problem,” Rosa says smoothly. “I’m stronger than I look.”

Gina smiles. “I’m sure you are,” she says, and turns on the music. She leaps to the center of the room and starts dancing her part. For a minute, Gina dances alone to the music, gracefully lifting her arms through the air. Rosa watches Gina until she pulls a développé movement.

Rosa pirouettes into the mix. A rush of ecstasy fills her chest as she twirls Gina round, barely noticing how cold Gina’s skin is or how it presses against her hands as they dance together.

She notices how Gina giggles as they run through the ballet part. A smile blossoms onto Rosa face as Gina calls out “Sauté!” Rosa jumps, airborne for a few moments before landing at Gina’s side. They continue to dance, until the music escalates and Gina motions to Rosa.

Rosa quickly grips Gina’s waist with one hand and her leg with the other. She lifts Gina into the air and Gina laughs out loud. “That tickles!” Gina says over the music. Rosa puts Gina down and gently moves her hands off of Gina’s body.

Gina skips over to the music player and turns it off. “That was fun,” she says breathlessly.

“You know, if you laugh when Milton lifts you during the show—”

“I’ve already ran through that part with Milton,” Gina says. “And I didn’t laugh when we did it. But you, Rosa—you made me laugh.” She dusts off her leotard and stares at Rosa with bright blue eyes.

“How was that my fault?” Rosa asks. “You’re the one who laughed.”

“Your hands feel different than Milton’s—” Gina’s cheeks flush red. “That came out wrong.”

To lighten the mood, Rosa decides to use a running joke that Jake uses back home at work all the time. “Title of your sex tape,” she mumbles as some heat rises to her own cheeks. To her surprise, Gina laughs out loud.

“Ha! I know that joke! Love that,” Gina grins.

“Yeah, well, you’re just ticklish,” Rosa says.

“Am not!” Gina protests. Rosa lifts an eyebrow. “I’m not ticklish. I swear.” Gina bites her lip as she smiles uncertainly at Rosa’s smirk.

Without warning, Rosa leaps forward and tackles Gina to the ground. “What are you doing!” Gina shrieks as she squirms against Rosa’s wiggling fingers.

“I’m proving you’re ticklish,” Rosa says calmly as Gina breathlessly laughs.

“Okay—okay! Stop! Stop! I admit it; I’m ticklish!” Gina surrenders. Rosa raises and eyebrow and stops tickling Gina. Gina coughs a few times and catches her breath before Rosa realizes that she’s practically sitting on top of Gina.

The door of the Diamond Room swings open, and Milton Boyle walks in to see Gina Linetti and Rosa tangled up together on the floor of the ball room. “What—” he mutters as Rosa quickly jumps off of Gina’s body and stands up. Rosa brushes her hands off against her jeans as Gina stands up. “What’s happening?” he asks, squinting at Gina.

“Nothing,” the two women say together.

Milton lifts an eyebrow and starts talking. “Okay, then. Anyways, Gina, you weren’t back at the hotel, so I thought I would find you here. Oh yeah—my cousin can’t come to the ballet. I mean, I didn’t know he _wanted_ to come, but oh well.” Milton pauses for a moment and scratches his head. “We’re still on for dinner, right Gina?” he asks.

“Yeah, of course!” Gina says. “I’ll meet you there at eight, okay? I was just rehearsing.”

“Okay,” Milton says. “See you then.” He leaves the Diamond Room still bewildered about the scene between Rosa and Gina that he had just witnessed.

“So, uh—” Rosa mumbles. “You’re having dinner with Milton tonight?”

“Yeah,” Gina says. “It’s a date!” she throws her hands up into the air and shrugs. “I don’t know, actually.” She starts rambling as Rosa lifts an eyebrow. “I mean, he’s really nice! And I think I like him?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rosa says. “Have fun.” She grabs her jacket from the corner of the floor and walks out of the Diamond Room. A few minutes later, she’s out of the building.

Instead of hailing a taxi, Rosa finds herself walking to her hotel. She nods at random strangers as they greet her along the street. The sun is setting and a chill falls over the city. Rosa’s curls flap in the wind as she pulls her jacket tighter around her body.

She doesn’t know when, but she’s back at the hotel sooner than she had expected. Rosa heads straight to her room and strips down her clothes. After taking a quick shower, she pulls on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

She opens up the text messages from Jake. They’re all about some “unsolvable case.” Rosa spends a few minutes giving Jake a few tips according to the case details that he has sent her. Rosa sighs as he texts back immediately with a couple hundred emojis and then a short video of Charles singing a Backstreet Boys song.

Rosa turns off her phone and throws it aside. She collapses into the queen-sized bed, snuggling deeply into the covers. She grabs the TV remote off of the bedside table, first ordering room service and then flipping through the channels of the TV.

And a few minutes later, her dinner lies discarded on the table. The TV is still on but Rosa is fast asleep. The lights are dim and the curtains are open and the city of Paris is still bustling. Somewhere very close, Gina Linetti is probably having a wonderful dinner with Milton Boyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i literally have a million ideas for other dianetti stories but this is like number one in my head like this is one of the greatest things that i've ever written


	7. the seventh time she stood at the top of the eiffel tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa's having mixed feelings about Gina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i bet you thought you'd seen the last of me today!! yes, another chapter in one day!!

                                                                                                 

The next few days before the ballet (“Les Mouches de Colibri” it was called) pass quickly. Rosa and Gina develop a routine—Rosa comes into the grand ballet building every morning at eight o’clock sharp. Gina warms up, and then they run through the routine twice.

Occasionally, Milton comes in and Rosa helps him as well. He’s much cooler around Rosa than he was a few days ago (freaking out and asking for an autograph) and Rosa can’t help but notice every single time he and Gina casually touch.

She maintains a professional stance around the dancers which Gina notices on the second day before the dance.

“You okay?” Gina asks her during a break they take in between the dance routines.

Rosa nods shortly. “Fine. Anyways, I think you’re all good for the ballet. You don’t need my help anymore.” She takes a gulp of cold coffee from the cup she has been clutching tightly.

Gina frowns. “What? Are you sure?”

“I think we’re good,” Milton pitches in. “We’re gonna do great, Gina. We’re a power team.”

These words make Rosa bite her lip as she looks away from both Milton and Gina. “Yeah. You’re good,” Rosa manages out. “Keep practicing, Linetti. You’re gonna do great. You’re… you’re a star.”

Gina beams. “That’s a lot, coming from you. You’re still gonna watch the ballet, though, right?”

Rosa nods. “Of course. I have a front row seat. I… I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” With that, she gets up and clutches her coffee to her chest as she leaves the ball room. Rosa catches one last glimpse of Gina’s face before she leaves the two dancers alone.

Rosa doesn’t know _where_ she is going as she makes her way down the marble steps once she has left the building. She contemplates returning to her hotel but stops walking once she hears her name being called.

“Madame Diaz!” Sir Ethan runs to a stop in front of her. Panting, he asks “Where are you going?”

“Miss Linetti and Sir Boyle; they’re ready,” Rosa nods at him.

Sir Ethan’s face lights up. “They are? You are certain?”

“Yes. I will see you at the ballet, Sir Ethan.” She waves a dismissive hand and continues to gracefully walk down the smooth white steps that glint in the sunlight.

Rosa isn’t sure what to do or where to go. She’s got two days before the big ballet and then another one before her flight back to LaGuardia Airport in Queens. Queens, where Gina Linetti had said she grew up.

But Gina Linetti doesn’t need her anymore. She’s got Milton to aid her in the ballet. Besides, there is probably no way that Rosa Diaz will see Gina Linetti ever again after the ballet, so Rosa should just… stop thinking about Gina.

She’s been to Paris before. Rosa’s seen a lot of the beautiful attractions that Paris has to offer to its tourists. Damn, she’s been to the top of the Eiffel Tower like six times. The first time, she was sixteen and it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

To be there, a dancer in the city of love. Sixteen year old Rosa Diaz had been on the top of her world. She had been so damn happy to come to Paris for the first time ever.

And now… Rosa’s just _there._ She knows how it goes. She comes to the city, helps prepare the dancers for the ballet, grabs a few drinks here and there, and then flies back home to Jake peppering her with questions about her trip.

And yet… Rosa finds herself heading for the Eiffel Tower. She rents a bicycle and it’s the closest thing she’s done all week to riding her motorcycle back home. It makes her feel like _herself_ again, even though the bicycle is a million times more flimsy than her motorcycle.

Rosa misses home. She misses everything. She misses working on dead-end cases with Jake and making gross coffee in the morning at the precinct. She misses slamming her fists down on the table while interrogating a criminal. She misses heading to Shaw’s after work with her coworkers. She misses heading to other bars in Brooklyn by herself and meeting strangers.

And she’s _confused._ She’s confused as to why she’s feeling this way. Rosa’s been away from home for _months_ at a time. And yet, less than a week has gone by and she’s missing Brooklyn like crazy and wanting nothing more than to be back home in her own apartment.

Rosa’s losing her sense of security. Everything feels so frightening to her all of a sudden. And it’s not because she’s in Paris. With a jolt, Rosa realizes that she’s feeling the way she is because of a _person._

Gina Linetti, damn it.

Rosa feels like she’s got some sort of _connection_ with Gina. It’s a strange feeling. She hasn’t felt anything like this… since she wanted to be friends with Gracie.

But this is crazy. Rosa just wants to be _friends_ with Gina. It’s a natural and easy feeling, to be around Gina Linetti. So who can blame Rosa if she wants to keep on texting Gina in Brooklyn?

Rosa’s at the top of the Eiffel Tower now. She inhales the fresh air as she looks down. Paris is indeed a very beautiful city and she’ll never tire of seeing it. Her hair flutters gently in the soft gusts of wind that take over.

And suddenly, Rosa feels sixteen again. Like she’s about to star in some big ballet in the city of Paris, like someone’s just noticed her dancing skills for the first time. And she’s in love with her entire life. She wants nothing to ever change.

And then she’s adult Rosa again. The Rosa who’s seen it all. The Rosa who knows more than the sixteen year old Rosa will _ever_ know.

But there’s someone she doesn’t know too much about. She’s yearning to know more about Gina Linetti, and she’s wishing that she can see Gina again before the ballet. But Rosa just can’t bring herself back to the grand ballet building. Not after everything that had happened in the past week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn i wrote that so quickly. gonna proofread it later if i want to because i just wanted to post it quickly & share my writing with the world


	8. is this like a date or is it like NOT a date or are we just having lunch together as friends pls say something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa and Gina!!! becoming like good friends or smthn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to @ydididodis (or @cheddar-the-dog on tumblr) for giving me the idea of having Kevin there in Paris!!!  
> also i'm very tired like u have no idea and i've gone to great lengths to write this chapter

                                                                                                      

She doesn't belong. Rosa just doesn't feel right there; in Paris. She wanders the city alone late at night, unsure of what her next move should be. The city is alive and bustling, but it feels cold and empty to Rosa. She slowly walks along the sidewalk without knowing where she is headed.

A man with a turned over top hat at his feet contently plays the violin. Rosa pulls a few euros out of her jacket and tosses them at his hat. She continues on her way, swerving around a drunk man who is slurring something out in a sing-song voice.

She's really considering just grabbing a taxi or something to Orly Airport and hopping on the next flight home, but she just can't bring herself to do it as much as she wants to. Rosa has made a commitment to go to Gina Linetti's ballet. And she's gotta keep that promise; and if not for herself, then for Gina.

Rosa ducks into a pretty sober-looking bar and orders a whiskey for herself. She's about to take a sip when she hears a voice: "One chardonnay, please."

It's a voice she recognizes. Rosa nearly jumps out of her skin before abandoning her whiskey and bolting to the hall outside of the bathroom. She hadn't quite forgotten that Captain Holt's husband Kevin is going to be in Paris at the same time as she is but she hadn't exactly expected to run into him anytime either. Paris isn't exactly a _small_ place.

She presses herself firmly against the wall as she hears him talking to the bartender. "Well, Max, I have actually purchased tickets to a _ballet_ that will be happening in two days. It sounds _very_ interesting."

Rosa hopes to dear god that he's referring to some other ballet.

"Les Mouches de Colibri. The Hummingbird Flies," Kevin continues, and all hope falls to a bottomless pit in Rosa's stomach. "It's an original, I believe. My husband is flying in to see it with me as well."

Rosa's heart nearly leaps to her throat. _Holt_ was going to be in Paris as well? Rosa might as well be dancing on the stage in front of everyone and exposing who she really is.

Rosa subtly sneaks out of the bar, kicking at the concrete as she walks along. She quickly calls Sir Ethan from a pay phone (because calling him from her cell phone could most certainly be the death of her) and talks to him in rapid French. In the end, he agrees to change her seat to one that is more concealed from view.

With that out of the way, Rosa quickly grabs a cab back to her hotel. She's pretty disappointed that she's still sober through all of the emotions that she's going through. Her whiskey is probably still abandoned at the bar. Rosa falls onto her bed, not bothering to turn off the light as she passes into a deep slumber.

The next morning, she wakes up to about a million texts from both Jake and Gina (it's more like _ten_ texts, of which nine are from Jake). All of Jake's texts are clearly drunk texts. This is confirmed when Rosa opens a voicemail from Jake in which Amy's screaming some nonsense in the background. "She's had two drinks," Jake says, "and I love her _so_ much, Rosa. What do you do when you _love_ someone _so_ much!?" He starts crying and the voicemail cuts off.

Rosa rolls her eyes and opens the one text message from Gina.

 

 **Gina:** **hey u wanna grab some lunch later?? if yeah, meet me outside of the dance building at 1**

 

Rosa nearly smiles before frowning. _Should_ she see Gina before the ballet?

It doesn't take Rosa long to make her mind up. She's going back to Brooklyn in two days anyways, so she decides to make the best out of time left in Paris. She's gonna meet Gina Linetti for lunch.

12:56 PM rolls by quickly enough before Rosa realizes that she's going to be late for lunch. She grabs her maroon leather jacket and runs out of the hotel as quickly as she can, flagging down a taxi and paying a few extra euros for the driver to get her to the ballet building as fast as he can.

She sees Gina sitting on the steps as she breathlessly gets out of the taxi and dashes over to Gina. Gina is looking at something on her phone. She looks up briefly as Rosa takes a seat besides her on the steps and then tilts her phone screen over at Rosa. "Look, it's a video of a goat screaming," Gina says.

Rosa smiles. She's seen the video already (Jake had texted it to her) but it's so nice to see Gina happy. Gina's not in dance clothes, either. She wears a flannel under a black suede jacket and a pair of jeans. "So we're grabbing lunch?" Rosa inquires, trying not to think about how nicely Gina is rocking that flannel.

"Yup," Gina says, standing up, She tugs Rosa up by the arm and tucks her cell phone into her pocket. "Nice jacket by the way."

"Thanks," Rosa manages. Gina still has her hand on Rosa's arm. Rosa clenches her jaw and looks straight ahead as they walk a few blocks away to a nice cafe.

"They have the best crêpes here," Gina says as she pulls the door open.

"Merci," Rosa murmurs softly as Gina holds the door open for her. They sit down at the table and a waitress comes by to take their order. Rosa gives her order in fluent French and Gina gapes at her with wide eyes.

When the waitress turns to Gina, she shrugs. "I… I'll have whatever she's having?" Gina says with uncertainty. As the waitress leaves, Gina turns to Rosa. "Damn, Rosie! I didn't know you spoke French! Also, what did you order because I ordered the same thing I think."

Rosa rolls her eyes. "I ordered caramel crêpes with vanilla ice cream," she says.

Gina nods. "Okay, that's a good order," she admits.

They spend the next few minutes in an awkward silence before the food arrives. Rosa does her best to avoid Gina's eyes, but the woman's piercing blue eyes stay on Rosa as she fiddles with the zipper of her leather jacket.

Their lunch arrives and Rosa quickly busies herself with eating. Finally, Gina breaks the silence. "Diaz, you're still coming to the ballet, right? Ethan said something about you changing your plans?"

Rosa lifts her head and looks at her, stuffing a forkful of food into her mouth. A moment later, Rosa swallows and clears her throat. "Uh, yeah. There's been a… complication. One of my coworkers is gonna be at the ballet and I can't risk him finding out―"

"That you used to be a dancer," Gina finishes smoothly. "So you're just not gonna be there?"

"I'm gonna be there. I just have a different seat. You just won't be able to see me from the stage," Rosa tell her, taking a sip of her chocolate malt.

Gina nods. "Okay. Hey, can I have your email?"

Rosa frowns. "For what?" she asks.

"To stay in touch. Can't find your twitter anywhere, so," Gina looks up at Rosa expectantly.

"You have my number," Rosa says, bewildered.

"S'not the same," Gina says through a mouthful of crêpes. "I wanna write you, Diaz. You… _intrigue_ me."

"Really." Rosa raises an eyebrow. "And what about me intrigues you?"

Gina laughs delightfully. "Everything, Rosa. _You_ intrigue me. Your dark past is incredibly interesting, and I would absolutely _love_ to get to know more about you," she smiles.

"Okay," Rosa says. She pulls out a crumpled receipt, black pen, and piece of barbed wire from her jacket pocket and quickly stuffs the piece of wire back in. Rosa writes down her email on the back of the receipt and hands it to Gina.

"I mean, for blackmail info," Gina adds to her previous statement hurriedly. She takes the receipt and turns it over. "See, this is exactly what I was talking about! A receipt for bowling shoes, Rosa?!"

Rosa's cheeks go pink. "That's totally not mine," she lies.

Gina grins. "Thanks for everything this week, Rosa," she says and pockets the receipt.


	9. whoa what can't catch these feeling rn can't right now bc i'm leaving for ACROSS THE WORLD tomorrow so i CAN'T fall in love w/ u

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whoa is rosa catching some feelings for gina or is it just me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i adore pining rosa with all of my heart because she BREAKS my heart anyways i have finals to be taking and i am not doing that because this is more important duh

                                                                                                    

The day of the ballet is a very big one. At about nine in the morning, Gina texts Rosa to **meet me in the diamond room pls!!!**

Rosa gets the text about twenty minutes too late when she glances at her phone after picking her head up from the mound of pillows on her bed. She jumps into fresh clothes as quickly as she can and nearly forgets her trademark leather jacket as she dashes out of the hotel and out to the streets.

Rosa gets there soon enough. The grand ballet building is swarming with people. It’s much more busier than usual, due to the ballet being that day. Rosa rushes through and dodges people as she skids down one of the halls and to the Diamond Room.

She tries to push through but it’s locked. Rosa raps on the door a few times. “Linetti?” she calls. The door swings open in response and Rosa steps through to see Gina talking to someone on her cell phone. She looks up at Rosa as she talks.

“Dude, it’s gonna be great. I’m a star! Yeah, I _know_ I’ve been telling you that since I was three; it’s true! Okay, I gotta go. Bye, Pineapples!” Gina takes her phone away from her ear. “That was a friend of mine,” Gina says.

Rosa nods, trying not to judge whoever “Pineapples” is too harshly. “Okay. So, why are we meeting here like this?” She watches as Gina locks the door and then grabs a pair of ballet shoes from the corner of the room.

“Put these on,” Gina orders, tossing them at Rosa. Rosa catches the satiny light pink shoes in one hand and frowns.

"What do you mean.”

“Come on, Rosie. You’re leaving, what, _tomorrow_? And then all I can do is email you? Can’t we dance like one last time?” Gina pleads. “Besides, I’ve got some nerves and I wanted to practice but Milton bailed on me. He said he’s meeting his mom for breakfast or something.”

“Fine,” Rosa mutters. She sits down on the floor as she begins to tie the ballet shoes up. “But you know, when I used to dance, my ballet slippers were _black._ ” She strips off her leather jacket, exposing her bare arms. “We can practice _one_ more time.”

Gina claps joyfully. “I knew you’d say yes! Damn, Rosa, you look _great_.”

Rosa bites her lip as a faint bit of red streams into her cheeks. She nods. “Okay. Music?” she says, not quite sure how to handle compliments. When she used to dance, Rosa would receive _tons_ of compliments. But now? They come as somewhat of a surprise to her. She just isn’t used to them anymore.

And a compliment coming from Gina Linetti? Damn, Rosa’s seen Gina’s twitter. The girl _rarely_ ever gives out compliments.

“Yup,” Gina grins, turning around and pressing a button on the music player. She slowly begins to dance.

Rosa frowns upon hearing the music. “Hey, this isn’t the music for the ballet—” she manages to get our before Gina grabs her arm and twirls her around. “So are we just making this up as we go along?” Rosa mutters as she attempts to dance gracefully.

“Just go with it, Rosa! You need to start _living!”_ Gina laughs, jumping through the air. Rosa’s eyes widen as Gina grips her waist for a moment before spinning her around.

“Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Yup. This is happening,” Rosa mumbles as she pirouettes through the air and lands gracefully in front of Gina.

“Damn right it is!” Gina says gleefully, jumping into the splits mid-air.

“Is this Beyoncé?” Rosa says as she glides along the floor in her pink ballet shoes.

“Yup!” Gina answers before hoisting Rosa up into the air. Rosa gasps as she feels Gina’s warm hands—one on her waist and one on her leg.

It’s definitely not the first time she’s been lifted in ballet. But she’s never actually been lifted by another girl. When she had been dancing, most of the guys didn’t want to lift her either. (She had a reputation for kicking when they got too touchy.)

But this is a totally new experience. Gina Linetti lifting her up is probably one of the best things that Rosa has ever experienced. Gina's hands are warm and soft and Rosa can feel the heat rising to her face as she feels Gina's hands through the thin fabric of her leggings.

She feels like she’s on top of the world; like she’s soaring through the air. A smile breaks out on Rosa’s face as Gina sets her down and they continue dancing.

The music eventually stops and Gina and Rosa collapse to the floor, laughing. “That was fun,” Rosa manages. She lies on her back on the floor and looks up the ceiling.

Gina lies down next to her. Her auburn hair fans out around her head as she looks over at Rosa. “Wow, I haven’t seen you this happy since… since I met you, actually.”

Rosa breathlessly looks over at Gina, meeting her eyes in a soft gaze. “Oh,” Rosa mumbles. Her eyes trail down to Gina’s lips and for some reason, Rosa just _really_ wants to kiss Gina.

Which was crazy, of course. She can’t do that!! She can’t just catch feeling for Gina like that!!! Rosa is definitely out of her mind. She forces herself to look away from Gina’s face and back up at the ceiling. Rosa’s going back to Brooklyn _tomorrow._ She can’t do anything stupid.

Rosa knows for sure what she’s gonna do when she gets back to Brooklyn. She’s obviously going to head to a bar, get very drunk, maybe bone a stranger, get over Gina, and then continue with life.

Rosa sits up in the ball room. “Uh, so, I’ll see you half an hour before the ballet, okay?” Rosa manages as she looks down at Gina’s beautiful face. She gets up and walks out of the Diamond Room without bothering to take off her ballet shoes.

On her way out, the cold air stings at Rosa’s arm and she realizes that she’s left her jacket. She contemplates going back to get it, but she thinks the better of it and continues on her way to her hotel. She gets some strange looks in the lobby because of her ballet shoes, but Rosa just scowls and sends everyone looking away.

When Rosa is sitting cross-legged on her bed, she pulls her laptop out of the bottom of her suitcase and opens up her email. She scrolls past Boyle’s daily newsletter and opens up a string of emails sent to her from Jake. They’re all about some triple murder, so Rosa makes herself comfortable and starts working on leads for the case to pass the time.

But honestly? She can’t wait to watch Gina Linetti kill the stage with her awesome dance moves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm a TERRIBLE writer but i can't wait for the next chapter lmao


	10. SPECIAL: the ballet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO much happens. they DANCE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! i had SO much fun writing this chapter!! i hope you enjoy it!!  
> also huge thanks to @BlackAcre13 for recommending the movie "Center Stage" to me!! it was an amazing ballet movie and i LOVED it and it was a huge inspiration!!!

                                                                                                  

Finally, Rosa's ready to go down to the grand ballet building. She throws on a pair of jeans and a red top, pulling her nicest leather jacket over it (the one with no blood on it).

Fifteen minutes later, she meets an overwhelmed Sir Ethan standing by the steps of the building. People are swarming all around; chattering in excitement about the ballet. Ethan tugs her into the building. He takes her backstage to the ballet. "You can help Miss Linetti get ready; she's personally requested to have you there.. I will show you to your seat shortly before the ballet begins," he says and turns to walk away.

Gina appears from behind the curtain. "Oh, hey, Rosa!" she says. Rosa notices her leather jacket from previously that day draped around Gina's shoulders. "You forgot your jacket in the Diamond Room," Gina offers. Rosa nods as Gina begins to shrug it off of her shoulders.

"Oh, uh," Rosa begins as Gina begins to hand it to her. "You can actually… keep it. Something to remember me by." She takes a deep breath of air and bites her lower lip.

Gina's eyes widen in surprise. "Rosa, you're making it sound super serious," she says as she drapes the jacket over one arm. "You're just going home, not _dying._ We'll still talk." She flashes a bright smile at Rosa, which flusters Rosa even further.

"Yeah. We will," Rosa says. "You gotta finish getting ready, Gina." She's already dressed in a red leotard with a tinted skirt of tulle puffing out.

"Mhmm," Gina mumbles, taking a seat in front of one of the mirrors. She bends down and pulls out a pair of red pointe shoes. Rosa smiles, remembering a similar pair of shoes she had worn during a performance at the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. She had been so young at the time.

Gina smacks the shoe hard against the table in front of her, causing Rosa to flinch. "They're new," Gina explains. "Gotta break them in." A few more minutes pass with Gina causing near destruction to the new pointe shoes. "It's also a good way to let out anger," Gina says, finally strapping them onto her feet.

"Really?" Rosa mutters. "I just go to the gym."

"Of course you do," Gina smiles. She stands up and walks around in a few circles, jumping up and down a few times.

"Miss Linetti?" A woman comes over, interrupting Gina's breaking in ceremony. "I'm here to do your hair." Gina sits down and the hairstylist begins working her way through Gina's thick auburn hair, elaborately braiding and twisting.

A few minutes later, Gina's hair is in a braided crown bun at the back of her head. It's all that Rosa can do to not stare as Gina starts applying her own makeup. "You know, this color would look better on you," Gina says, holding up a tube of dark red lipstick. She applies a coat of it to her lips and turns to look at Rosa.

Gina looks absolutely stunning. "Nonsense," Rosa says. "You look _amazing._ " She inhales through her nose as her eyes meet Gina's. Gina tosses the tube of lipstick at her. With her sharp reflexes, Rosa catches it in the palm of her hand and looks questioningly at Gina.

"Keep it," Gina shrugs. "Something to remember me by." She winks and Rosa clenches the lipstick in her fist as she feels her heart flutter in her chest. She stuffs the lipstick into her pocket.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Gina waves her hand and pulls open a tube of mascara.

A few minutes later, she's done with her makeup. Gina turns around and looks at Rosa, who is quite literally speechless. Gina raises an eyebrow at Rosa. "You look… _stunning_ ," Rosa breathes out a beat later.

Gina laughs. "Thanks," she says, standing up and walking closer to Rosa. Her shoes tap along the floor as Gina swiftly grabs Rosa's arm and twirls her around.

"There's no music," Rosa mumbles. She's used to Gina pulling her into dancing out of the blue by now, but there's usually some sort of pop or hip-hop music that Gina likes playing in the background.

"We don't _need_ music," Gina smiles. "We're _us;_ the world's two best ballet dancers!" She spins around three times and comes face to face with Rosa.

"Yup," Rosa mumbles. "Along with, like, Misty Copeland. Natalia Osipova. Carlos Acosta. Diana Vishneva." She starts rattling off the names of a few famous ballet dancers. Gina laughs as she twirls Rosa around again. "Gillian Murphy. Ashley Bouder. Evgenia Obraztso―" Rosa is cut off when she sees Gina pulling off a grand jeté. She lands to her feet inches away from Rosa and stares her in the eye.

"Gina Linetti. Rosa Diaz," Gina says.

"What?" Rosa asks, dumbfounded.

"I'm adding names to your list of the greatest ballet dancers. Gina Linetti. Rosa Diaz," Gina repeats.

"Okay," Rosa says without even thinking about it. She's more focused on staring at Gina.

Sir Ethan scrambles into the room. "Miss Linetti, do _not_ dance before you get on stage! You'll ruin your hair before the show even starts!" he scolds. "You go on in ten minutes!"

"Was warming up," Gina says.

"Madame Diaz, I will show you to your seat now. As you had requested, it is concealed from the view of others," Sir Ethan says. Rosa smiles halfheartedly at Gina as Sir Ethan takes her by the arm and leads her out. Gina waves goodbye to Rosa as a swarm of dancers appear backstage and surround her.

Rosa peers down at the rest of the audience once she gets comfortable in her seat. She squints a little bit and sees Captain Holt and his husband Kevin sitting in the second row. For eight painstaking minutes, Rosa sits still in her seat and waits for the ballet to begin.

And it does. A few dozen ballet dancers open the show. After a few minutes, Milton Boyle makes his grand appearance. He dances his way through the throng of people and dives to his knees in a flourish with his arms up. The audience roars.

Rosa rolls her eyes, impatiently waiting for Gina to take the stage. A few seconds later, she does. Dancing along to the music that she had danced to with Rosa, Gina twirls her way to Milton. Rosa watches as they dance together, nodding her head appreciatively  at Gina's perfect movement. Rosa can't tear her eyes away from Gina. From both of them, really. Milton's doing a wonderful job as well.

The show progresses as Gina, Milton, and the background dancers start pulling off much more elaborate ballet moves. Near the middle of the show, Milton pirouettes in the air, but Rosa notices that he doesn't land quite right.

Her observation is correct. Milton shakily dances through the next scene. His face is scrunched up in pain and the curtain abruptly drops after he falls to his feet. Rosa frowns. Milton had an understudy, for sure. The show was going to be all right.

But Sir Ethan is panting when he runs up behind her. "Madame Diaz, there is a problem," he says frantically. Rosa whips around and raises an eyebrow.

"What?" she asks. "He has an understudy. We're good, right?"

Sir Ethan sighs. "Will you please come with me, Madame Diaz?" She stands up and lets Ethan lead her backstage, where a worried Gina is standing against a wall. Her arms are crossed and her brow is furrowed, but she lets out a breath of relief when she sees Rosa and Ethan.

"He twisted his ankle pretty badly," Gina informs them with a sigh.

"So where's his understudy?" Rosa asks.

"One moment. We need to keep the audience engaged, so we are sending out our improvisational dancers out while we fix this… _mess_ ," Sir Ethan says. Rosa and Gina watch as he barks out orders to a few dancers. "Louise, go and lead them! Gracie, go with her!"

Rosa catches a glimpse of Gracie hurrying out onto stage. She turns back to Sir Ethan. "Where is Milton's understudy?" she asks again.

Ethan scratched his chin. "Well, the understudy had to fly out to Italy due to some personal emergency. I dismissed him because Milton told me it was all right." He winces at the sight of Gina's outraged face. Rosa crosses her arms, matching Gina's pose.

"Well?" she demands. "Do any of the boys know Milton's part?"

Sir Ethan shakes his head, nearly cowering under Rosa's glare.

Gina's eyes light up. "None of the other boys know the part, but there _is_ someone who knows it. And that person is standing right in front of me…" She ignores Rosa's harsh glare.

Rosa shakes her head vigorously. "No. Nope. No, Gina. That's _crazy_."

Sir Ethan looks from Rosa to Gina. "What am I missing here?" he asks.

"Rosa knows the part," Gina says with gleaming eyes. Rosa clenches her jaw as Sir Ethan looks at her with scrutiny. "She danced it with me _many_ times while I was practicing," Gina continues.

"Gina, _no_ ," Rosa says. "I can't dance out there. People will think Rosa Diaz is _back._ I can't have that. I've done _so_ much to make sure that people have _forgotten_ me. I can't do this."

Gina grabs Rosa's arm. "Rosa, you're our _only_ hope," she says forcefully.. "Please? We could do something to make sure no one recognizes you? The art of makeup?"

Rosa frowns.

"I might have a way around that," Sir Ethan says. He darts away. A moment later, he returns holding a masquerade mask. "If you wear that, then no one will recognize you."

Rosa reluctantly takes it. She fits it onto her face and looks into the mirror. It's true; the mask conceals her face except for her lips and chin. Rosa pulls it off and stares back at Ethan and Gina. "I still recognize me," she says flatly.

"That's because you're _you!_ " Gina cries. "After we do your hair and makeup, not _one_ person will recognize you. Promise."

Rosa is running out of reasons to deny the part. "There's a part where Gina and Milton were supposed to kiss, though!" she complains, turning to her final resort.

" _So?!"_ both Sir Ethan and Gina exclaim incredulously. "You can still kiss her. The mask doesn't cover your lips," Sir Ethan adds.

"That's not what I meant―" Rosa huffs.

Gina sidles up to her. "Please, Rosa. Are you _scared_ of kissing _me?_ Weren't you tough and badass? Come on, Rosa. It's _acting_ . You can kiss me for five goddamn seconds. Come on; get dressed. I'll do your hair." Rosa stares at her for a moment. Gina claps her hands twice. "Come on! We're running out of _time!_ Let's _go!_ " Gina orders, and Rosa darts off to change.

Minutes later, she's dressed in black tights and and a red leotard. Sir Ethan thrusts a pair of red pointe shoes into Rosa's arms. Gina emerges from the background, holding a hammer in her hand. Rosa stares at her and protectively cradles the shoes closer to her chest.

"Don't worry. I already kinda broke them in for you. Might be a little stiff, though." Gina says, watching as Rosa drops to the floor and begins to put the shoes on. "Come on." Gina pulls Rosa closer to her and grabs a hair straightener. "This shouldn't take too long."

After Rosa's hair is straightened, Gina works her fingers into Rosa's hair, bunching it up into her hands and pulling it into a bun. A strand of curly hair falls into Rosa's face when her hair is done and Gina brushes it behind Rosa's ear. "Yeah, that little piece wouldn't straighten," Gina says. Rosa shrugs.

Gina walks over to where Rosa's leather jacket it discarded. She pulls the tube of red lipstick out of it and walks back to Rosa. She cups Rosa's face with one hand and applies the lipstick to Rosa's lips with the other. After that, Gina hops over and returns the lipstick to Rosa's jacket.

"See, girl, you look _great,_ " Gina compliments. Rosa doesn't answer. She grabs the mask and shakily sets it onto her face.

And seconds later, the improvisational dancers step off stage and Rosa and Gina enter. A low murmur arises from the audience. Rosa looks at them with slight fear. She hasn't danced in front of this many people since… _years_ ago. Rosa looks out and sees Captain Holt and Kevin watching expectantly. To her dear sweet relief, they don't seem to recognize her.

The music starts, and Rosa imagines that she's back in the Diamond Room in her black leggings and t-shirt with a pair of soft pink ballet shoes on her feet. And it seems familiar. The dance moves take control of her body, and she twirls and steps with ease.

It's okay. Everything is okay. She's _dancing._

They dance their way through the routine. It feels so _familiar_ to Rosa; like she's danced this way with Gina hundreds of times (even though they've only done it like ten times). And it's so freaking _wonderful._ Rosa feels light and free and she feels _good. Happy._ It's all good. She finds herself nearly  _missing_ her time at the American Ballet Academy when she had danced many years ago.

And then Rosa recognizes the near ending of the music. The ballet had gone by so _quickly._ But then her eyes widen. This was the part that she and Gina had always skipped during practice. This was the part where Milton would kiss Gina and mark the end of the ballet.

Gina spins close to her and sets her hands gently on Rosa's shoulders. Her face is glowing as she tiptoes closer to Rosa.

Rosa is just fearful. She doesn't think she's ever been this scared of kissing a person in her entire life.

 _It's_ acting _, calm down,_ she tells herself. And then she can't think because Gina's warm lips are on hers and Rosa can't breathe.

It's _good,_  she'll admit _._ But it seems to last _forever._ Rosa feels as if she's about to drown in feelings and she _hates_ feelings. And then they finally break apart. Gina is still clutching onto Rosa's hand and they dance offstage. A moment later, they step back on stage with the rest of the dancers and take a bow.

The audience is going wild. Roses fly onto the stage as everyone stands up and applauds. Rosa catches sight of Kevin and Holt, both standing and clapping enthusiastically.

Gina bends down and picks up a red rose. She the head of the rose into Rosa's hand. "You know, a rose. Because you're Rosa." She's grinning stupidly. Rosa beams just as widely as she pulls Gina into a short hug.


	11. saying goodbye is a million times harder than saying hello. but here it is: goodbye, paris.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One heart in Paris. The other, flying across the ocean, on her way to Brooklyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear to god i've poured my life and soul into this entire work so thank you for reading it if you've made it this far without me boring you to death.

                                                                                              

Rosa wakes up the next morning; adrenaline and exhaustion somehow both running through her body at the same time. Her flight is in a few hours, but Rosa tosses all of the clothes that are lying around back into her suitcase; the exception being a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants that she takes into the bathroom with her.

Rosa takes a warm shower, opting to dry her hair with a towel instead of running a blow-dryer over it. By the time she gathers all of her belongings and lugs her suitcase out of the hotel room, her hair is just slightly damp. It hangs over her shoulders in loose curls and Rosa pushes it out of the way as she checks out of the hotel.

She’s about to call a taxi when she notices a familiar head of auburn hair sitting on the curb. It’s Gina. A woman who looks to be about the same age sits next to her. She’s got a wild head of unruly curls and she turns around and looks right at Rosa before saying something to Gina.

Gina and the woman quickly stand up and walk towards Rosa. Rosa stands in front of the hotel, waiting for Gina to reach her. “Hmm, she _is_ cute,” the other woman says once they approach. She looks Rosa up and down.

“See, told you,” Gina grins. “Rosa, this is my friend Aubrey.”

“Hey,” Rosa says and shakes Aubrey’s hand. She doesn’t make eye contact with the woman. Instead, she looks to the ground and clears her throat. “What are you doing here, Gina?”

“Well, couldn’t have your last hours in Paris be Gina-less,” Gina says. “I’m taking you to the airport! Surprise!”

“Surprise indeed,” Rosa mumbles.

“Yeah, look, that’s Aubrey’s car.” Gina points to the street, where a sleek black car is parked. “Sweet ride, huh?”

“I also ride a motorcycle,” Aubrey adds.

Rosa looks at her more closely. “Really? What model do you have?”

Aubrey answers with some kind of motorcycle model name. Gina watches in confusion as Rosa names a motorcycle model that she rides. Aubrey smiles brightly at Rosa and Rosa returns it with kind of a half-smile.

“See,” Gina says, grabbing Rosa’s suitcase. “I told you that you guys would get along!” she starts lugging the suitcase to the car.

Rosa stops Gina with a hand to her arm. “Gina, I got that,” she says.

Gina shrugs. “I’m stronger than I look. Come on! We don’t want you to miss your flight, do we?” She pauses and considers this statement. “Actually, maybe I _should_ make you miss your flight. You know, stay in Paris a little longer!”

"Ha. I got work to do and my coworkers are all still up their asses about where I am,” Rosa snorts. She follows Gina and Aubrey to the car and helps Gina put the suitcase in the trunk.

“I call backseat!” Gina says.

Rosa frowns. “No one does that.”

“And you, Rosa, call shot-gun!” Gina says and pushes Rosa towards the car door. Rosa stumbles into the passengers seat with a confused expression on her face. Aubrey laughs and starts the car.

A minute later, Rosa turns around and looks at Gina. “Are you trying to set me up with Aubrey?” she asks bluntly.

“What? No!” Gina says at the same time as Aubrey says “yup.”

Rosa gazes at Gina with disbelief. “You know I’m flying across the world in a few hours, right?”

“Yeah, I agree. Long distance wouldn’t work,” Aubrey chimes in. “Though if you were staying in Paris, baby girl, I’d be taking you out tonight. Trust me on that.”

Rosa’s cheeks burn. Aubrey is pretty. And yeah, Rosa wouldn’t mind going on a date or two with her. But she can’t. Not when she might have feelings for someone else. Someone else who is idiotically grinning in the backseat.

“Worth a shot,” Gina shrugs.

“Why?” Rosa asks incredulously.

“I wanna see you happy, Rosa!” Gina says. “You seem kinda lonely all the time, and you’re my friend. I want you to be happy.”

“I’m happy by myself,” Rosa mumbles quietly. Needless to say, the rest of the car ride to the airport is passed with Aubrey turning on the radio and no one talking.

Rosa checks in at the airport with Gina and Aubrey lingering somewhere behind her. Once she turns around with her ticket in hand, Gina is nowhere to be seen. Rosa questioningly lifts an eyebrow at Aubrey, who shrugs.

A minute later, Gina appears through the crowd of people with a chocolate bar in her hand. She presses it into Rosa’s palm. “For the trip,” Gina smiles.

Rosa stuffs it into her backpack. “I gotta get going,” she says.

“Yeah,” Gina says wistfully. She turns to Aubrey. “Hey, can I have a minute?” she requests. Aubrey smiles.

“Sure. I’ll be waiting outside, okay? Bye, Rosa. Have a safe flight.” She lifts a hand and waves goodbye to Rosa before walking away.

Rosa looks at Gina. “What’s up?” she asks.

“Did I mention you look _great_ in that outfit?” Gina mumbles uncertainly. Rosa cocks her head and furrows her brow. “Okay, fine. Here’s the thing. I don’t like getting all emotional and sappy, but here it goes: I’m gonna miss you, Diaz,” Gina says.

“Uh, same,” Rosa says.

Gina continues speaking. “You’ve literally been so amazing. I’m really sorry I got mad at you on your second day here.” Her hand goes to Rosa’s hair and Rosa watches from the corner of her eye as Gina twirls a strand of Rosa’s dark hair around her finger.

“That’s cool,” Rosa says.

But Gina still has more to say. “You’re super cool. And you’re an _amazing_ dancer. You’ve… you’ve taught me a lot in this past week, and you’ve _cared._ I can tell, Rosa. Really, you’ve been too good to me. And I’m gonna miss you a lot.”

Rosa is trying not to freak out when she sees a tear sprouting from the corner of Gina’s eyes. “Hey, thank _you._ You’ve been great. I—I’m kinda gonna miss you too.” She throws her head back and takes a deep breath. “But who knows? You’re gonna star in a huge ballet soon and I’ll be there!” Now _Rosa’s_ got a tear in her eye. She wipes her eyes quickly.

“Sorry I tried to set you up with Aubrey. I don’t know why I did that,” Gina says.

“It’s fine. Aubrey’s cool,” Rosa says.

“I’m a perfect matchmaker,” Gina says as a tear drips down her face. “Ugh, I am _not_ crying! This is allergies. What would the paparazzi say?” She looks around the airport and quickly covers her face.

Rosa laughs out loud. “Hey, I gotta go now. Just—email me, okay?”

Gina pulls Rosa in for a close hug. After a moment, they break apart. Rosa starts stepping towards security, her body still turned to face Gina. Rosa waves a few times and smiles.

Gina smiles back as she watches Rosa turn around and walk away. It’s the last time she ever sees Rosa in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing tenses is SO hard like ?? is was WHAT


	12. write me an email a hundred times a day and i swear i'll reply to each and every one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It feels like they're a million miles apart, but they're somehow connected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thus, let the "pen pals" portion of this au begin.

                                                                                              

Gina head out of the airport and meets Aubrey back in the car. Aubrey smiles sympathetically upon noticing Gina’s dejected face. Gina sighs as she props her feet up on the dashboard.

“So, why _did_ you try setting me up with Rosa?” Aubrey asks.

“Huh?”

“Yeah. Clearly, _you’re_ the one who likes her so much,” Aubrey says.

Gina’s jaw drops open. _“What?_ I don’t like Rosa like that! We’re friends!” she protests.

Aubrey raises an eyebrow and laughs. “You keep telling yourself that, Gina.”

And suddenly, Gina’s left with a million other things to think about. She decides to ignore the whirlwind of thoughts in her head and turns on a Rihanna song from her phone.

Meanwhile, Rosa’s touched down at LaGuardia Airport in Queens nine hours later. And she feels super uncomfortable—spending time sitting next a crying baby and a teenage boy had _certainly_ not been her cup of tea.

Rosa just wants to get home. She’s exhausted and she’s sure that the jet-lag is going to stick with her for a while. After grabbing her suitcase at the baggage claim, Rosa calls a taxi.

Soon, she’s looking out of the cab window at familiar roads. She feels like she’s at home; it’s not the first time Rosa’s ridden a cab through these streets. She feels safe, content, and _tired._

So when Rosa gets home to her apartment, she throws her suitcase down in the middle of the floor. _Don’t have time to unpack all of that,_ she thinks as she heads to her bedroom. It’s the same as she remembers, with not a thing out of place.

Rosa debates taking a shower or not, but she collapses onto her bed and immediately feels her eyelids closing. The shower would have to wait.

She doesn’t know how long she’s been asleep when her eyes open to the sound of her phone ringing. Rosa scrambles upright in bed as she frantically searches for where her phone is.

It’s frustrating. Her phone keeps on ringing but it’s out of sight and Rosa can’t tell where it is. Finally, when she stands up, it falls out of her bed. Rosa sighs as she picks it up and answers it. “What?” she croaks.

“Hey!” Gina’s voice spills out of the other end. Rosa involuntarily smiles.

“Hey.”

“Rosa, I can’t see you, but you sound like a _mess._ How was your flight, girl?” Gina asks. Rosa bites her lip as she tries to refrain from smiling. A beat later, she realizes that Gina _can’t_ see her, so Rosa lets herself smile.

“Terrible,” Rosa says. “Have you ever sat next to a crying baby and a teenage boy who’s got a hold of his dad’s Tinder?”

Gina chuckles from the other end. “That sounds rough. Hey, I gotta go now. Check your email, okay?” And with that, the line drops dead. Rosa sets her phone down on her bed as she frowns and heads out of her bedroom to where her suitcase is.

After a minute, she pulls out her laptop and crawls over to the couch. Rosa curls up on one corner as she turns on the laptop. When she opens her email, she sees a bunch of things that Jake has forwarded to her, something about food from Charles, an email from Terry containing pictures of his kids, and finally, an email with no subject from **Queen G**.

 

**Hey, Rosa.**

**It’s been like an hour since you left, and Paris is already a million times more dull without you. Anyways, I’m bored. I don’t know what to do. I’m thinking of taking a break from ballet for a few weeks. Maybe I’ll try break dancing or something.**

**Anyways, how ya doing, girl! You’re still in the airplane, so I bet you’re in hell, depending on whoever’s sitting next to you. Don’t get airsick!!**

**I’m wondering if you still have that rose I gave you yesterday.**

**And I’m kinda thinking about a lot of things. Half of those things I have no idea why. Intrusive thoughts, am I right?? Anyways, you were right. Feelings _do_ suck. (This is the part where you laugh and say, “told ya so!” like you always did whenever you were right and I was wrong.)**

**I kinda miss New York. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. Say hello to the city for me, okay? And I’ll say hello for the Eiffel Tower for you.**

**Have fun back at home!! And remember: you can’t ever forget me even if you try, because Gina Linetti is UNFORGETTABLE. Okay?? Write back soon!**

**Gina** **💯**

The email brings Rosa more joy than she’d care to admit. Rosa leaves the laptop open on her couch as she runs to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of red wine. She pops it open on her couch and sets it on the small coffee table in front of her. Rosa pulls the laptop closer to her as she begins to write an email back to Gina.

 

**To Gina.**

**Not gonna forget you, you psychopath. But you’re not allowed to forget me, either. You know what—you’d be super great at break dancing. Just remember to send me a few videos so I can criticize your posture.**

**I told ya so. Feelings really do suck. I don’t get how normal people deal with feelings all the time. (Because you and I, we’re extraordinary, aren’t we?)**

**I just got home and I’m tired, even though I took a nap like 0.2 minutes ago. I feel like I’m gonna fall asleep during work tomorrow. And yeah, I still have the rose you gave me. “A rose for Rosa”—that was cheesy, even for you.**

Rosa gets up and walks over to her suitcase. She opens up the top and rummages through it, finally pulling out the crumpled red rose. It’s drooping, so Rosa quickly carries to the dining table and sets it down gently. She spends a few minutes searching before she finally finds a heavy book to press it with. Afterwards, she returns to her laptop and continues writing the email.

 

**New York is nice. I like to go down to New York City every once in a while. It’s a pretty chill place. Hey, I don’t think I told you, but I actually did visit the Eiffel Tower while I was in Paris. It was great. But actually, please tell the tower hello for me, because as you know, the tower has emotions and can speak.**

**Also, take care of that leather jacket I left with you.**

**Rosa** **🌹**


	13. rosa wishes she could go back to paris and just see gina again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to New York, and Rosa just really misses Gina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this chapter from my grave

                                                                                                       

The next morning, Rosa arrives at work as normal. She’s early; even Amy isn’t there yet. Captain Holt sits in his office with the door closed and Rosa sits down at her desk in the deserted bullpen.

The elevator pings open to reveal Jake and Amy. Jake’s eyes light up as he sees Rosa. He flies out of the elevator and runs to her side. Jake gives Rosa an awkward hug and she shrugs him off. “Rosa! You’re home! Where’d you go? What’d you do? Did you have fun?” he asks.

“No questions,” Rosa orders.

“Come on!” Amy chimes in. “You were gone for a week, Rosa. We’re going to have _some_ questions.” She’s dressed in her sergeant uniform, and Rosa nearly smiles upon seeing her face.

“Yeah, we’re _gonna!”_ Jake says. “Please, Rosa? Give us a hint?” he begs with wide eyes.

Rosa rolls her eyes. “I had fun. That’s your only clue.”

Jake frowns. “That could be anywhere in the entire world. I mean, except for Atlantic City—wait, did you go to Atlantic City?”

Rosa wrinkles her nose. “Jake, I have like a ton of work to catch up on,” she says dismissively.

"And I have your _life_ to catch up on!” Jake says. Rosa shakes her head. “Yup,” Jake says and walks over to his own desk.

Rosa gets assigned an open robbery case and she starts working on it in high spirits. She wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but she finds that she has missed this place in the past week. After all, it is a big part of her life. And these people who worked here—she was closer to them than she’d ever admit.

At one point that day, Rosa stumbles across a document that needs Captain Holt’s signature. She glances up at his office and stands up when she sees that his office door is open. Rosa takes the document and walks over to his office. She knocks on the wall outside of his office and steps in once she hears him say “come in.”

“Just need you to sign this,” Rosa says gruffly, placing the sheet of paper on Captain Holt’s desk. Holt puts on his glasses as he starts reading over the document. He grabs a pen and signs the document.

Rosa moves to grab the file. She stops abruptly when Captain Holt says, “how was your week in Paris, Diaz?”

Rosa stares at Holt, unsure if she’s hearing him correctly. “What?” she asks slowly.

“Oh,” Captain Holt says. “I realize I have made a mistake in my wording. What I meant to say, was, how was your vacation, Diaz?”

Rosa blinks. “What—how? You—”

Captain Holt merely sighs. “Shut the door, Detective,” he says, and Rosa does so. She crosses her arms and looks at him for an explanation. “Oh, please. Don’t give me that look,” he says.

Rosa raises an eyebrow. “What?” she asks.

Captain Holt glances at her. “Not you, Diaz. Cheddar!” He bends down and picks up the corgi from under his desk. Cheddar wiggles excitedly upon seeing Rosa, who frowns. Captain Holt sets Cheddar back down on the floor and the dog runs around the office.

“So…” Rosa begins awkwardly. “How did you know that I—”

“That you used to be a famous ballet dancer?” Captain Holt finishes. Upon seeing the dumbfounded look on Rosa’s face, Captain Holt raises his eyebrows. “Oh, I see that I have made things worse.”

“How do you know _that_?” Rosa asks, trying not to clench her fists out of frustration.

“Well, I do have quite an extensive knowledge of ballet, Diaz. I have known who you are since my first day at the Nine-Nine. You could change your hair and your outfit, but that wasn’t going to fool _me,”_ Captain Holt says. He takes his glasses off and folds them, setting them down on a corner of his desk.

Rosa frowns. “Since when do you know so much about ballet?” she mutters under her breath.

“Ballet has _fascinated_ me ever since I was an eight year old boy. At first, yes, I will admit, I was drawn to it because who would _not_ like to see handsome men dancing elegantly in tights?” Captain Holt continues. Rosa wrinkles her nose. “But then I was more intrigued in the history of it; the _art_ of it. I did my research quite extensively,” he finishes.

“So you’ve _known_ that I used to be a famous ballet dancer?” Rosa asks.

“Yes, well of course. You did a wonderful job filling in for Milton Boyle last weekend,” Captain Holt says.

Rosa’s gaze drops to her feet for a moment. “Uh, thank you,” she mumbles. “But you really can’t tell anyone. Seriously, sir,” she pleads.

“Diaz, relax. I would never tell anyone,” Captain Holt reassures her. “Here is your file.” He picks it up and hands it to her. Rosa takes the file and quickly flees from Holt’s office.

When she returns to her desk, Jake gives her a strange look. “What was that about?” he asks.

“Signing a file,” Rosa mutters without looking at him. He shrugs and continues playing a game on his computer.

Later that day, Rosa grabs her leather jacket. She takes the elevator down to the garage, where she mounts her motorcycle and heads out of the precinct.

But, she doesn’t ride her motorcycle on the usual route home. Rosa takes her bike straight to the freeway. She feels like she’s flying on the open road as darkness takes over the sky and the air becomes chilly.

Soon, she’s sped her way to New York City. Rosa rides her motorcycle slowly in the cold air of the city and gazes up at the buildings. They’re majestic.

Rosa has always loved the city. Every single city she’s been to has been different but ever so beautiful in its own way. Los Angeles. Rome. Berlin. Amsterdam. Tokyo. Chicago. London. _Paris._ She’s loved all of them.

“Gina Linetti says hello,” Rosa whispers. Her breath comes out in front of her face in a cold mist. “Remember her? She’s one of the most amazing people in the entire world.”

And then Rosa realizes what she’s saying. Now she’s really gone insane. She’s talking to the _city._

When Rosa comes home later that night, she opens up her laptop to write an email to Gina.

 

**Gina,**

**Hey. How’s it going? Today I went to New York City. And I think that you’ve really gotten into my head, Gina. I said _hello_ to the city for you. **

**Anyways, so my boss knows that I was a dancer. He also knew that I danced in the ballet last weekend somehow. I know that he was there, but did the mask not work or something?**

**How are you doing? Did you start break-dancing or whatever you’re gonna do next?**

**Gina, you have to tell Paris hello from me so that I know I’m not the only insane one who talks to cities.**

**Rosa** **🌹**

 


	14. wait up so gina linetti isn't sure if she and rosa are even friends??? pls sis we want u & rosa to be MORE than just friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pulling the triggers of the slowburn ack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was cremated and my ashes were thrown into the ocean. the mermaids listened to the whispers of my soul and wrote everything down and put this chapter in a glass bottle. it floated for sixty days and fifty-nine nights before a poor being discovered it off the coast of the carribeans. they hacked into my account to post this chapter and honor my last wishes.

                                                                                                     

Rosa’s email is the first thing that Gina opens up when she wakes up in Paris that morning. While getting dressed, Gina reads the email, each sentence bringing a bright smile to her face. She glances at her outfit in the mirror, and then walks back to the closet and pulls out Rosa’s leather jacket.

Gina briefly buries her face into it. It still smells like Rosa and Gina had to admit that it’s a really nice scent. She pulls the jacket on and snaps a picture of herself in it to send to Rosa.

**Rosa!!!**

**You actually said hi to the city for me?? That’s wonderful!!! Paris says hello to you, too. (What did New York say to me??)**

**I’m not really doing much of anything right now. Just kinda living the life!! Having fun and being crazy!! Honestly, I’m really waiting for Beyoncé to visit. (But you could come and visit, too!! I’d take that over Beyoncé any day. Just kidding. Kinda.)**

**Wow, your boss knows who the famous Rosa Diaz is, even though the entire world of dance knows?? Who would’ve thought!! Actually, it’s kind of weird that he recognized you under that mask. I couldn’t tell that it was you.**

**Hey, I’ve always thought that it would be pretty cool to have a pen pal. When I was in the third grade, my entire class got assigned pen pals. Mine never really wrote back, but my best friend’s pen pal wrote back ALL the time. I think they stayed in touch until like high school or even college.**

**So yeah, I guess you can tell that I’ve really wanted a pen pal!! Since I was nine! So here it is: Rosa Diaz, will you be my pen pal???**

**Gina** **💯**

**> image attached (a selfie of Gina wearing Rosa’s leather jacket and aviator sunglasses)<**

She really doesn’t know what she’s gonna do next in Paris. Gina’s been in Paris for about six months already, living in a rented apartment with the best view of the city. Maybe it’s time to pack her bags and head off to Los Angeles or Quebec or something.

Or maybe she could go to New York?? Rosa was there, but would that make Gina seem clingy? They were just friends, after all.

Before Paris, Gina had spent some time in London as a theater actor. (Yes, she was very talented. She could also woo a crowd in Moscow with her vocal abilities.)

Gina’s done a lot of things throughout her life. Since she was three years old, Gina had known that she was meant to go great places. The production of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” put on at her preschool, starring Gina?? It had just warned the world of what was to come next.

And here Gina is, taking the world by storm through her amazing skills and A+ personality. She’s quite amazing, if she has to say so herself. (And she does say so herself. Every morning in front of the mirror while she gives herself her daily pep talk.)

This morning, Gina stands in front of the full length mirror and strikes a few different poses in Rosa’s leather jacket. “Girl, you are _fabulous!_ You truly are beautiful, ethereal, and a _ma_ zing! Really, how _do_ you do it?!” She twirls around and grabs her purse before returning to the mirror. “You just go on out and have some fun in Paris, girl! The whole entire world is yours!”

And with that, Gina heads out of her apartment and towards a café to grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast. She orders a caramel crêpe with a side of vanilla ice cream just as Rosa had done when they had gone to lunch together, almost a week ago.

As Gina eats, she dreamily stares out of the window of the café. Her mind isn’t really in Paris; it’s somewhere else. It’s wishing to be wherever Rosa is.

Which is totally crazy because they’re friends, and nothing more than friends. Even though they had kissed a few days ago.

 _Acting_ , Gina reminds herself, even though it had been the _best_ kiss she had ever experienced in her entire life. And it’s totally not Gina’s fault for thinking that. It’s more of Rosa’s fault for being a good kisser.

Gina spends the rest of the day mostly just wandering around the city. After all, she has to admit that it’s a glamorous place.

Before long, Gina’s back in her rented apartment. She’s lying on her couch with DVDs and clothes strewn all over the place when her phone buzzes. Gina smiles; she’s been expecting this.

She taps on a button and Jake Peralta’s face beams at her through the phone screen. Gina examines her own face in the small rectangle in the corner of the screen before paying any attention to Jake.

“Hey, girl!” Jake exclaims. “Where are you!”

“In my mess of an apartment,” Gina sighs dramatically. “What did you think?”

“I thought you’d say, like, London or Rome or something,” Jake says, perplexed. “Anyways, how’re you doing! Is it going _greeeaaaat_ or what!?”

“I’m in Paris,” Gina says, squinting at her own face again. “Oh, no, is my lipstick smudged?!” she brings a hand up to her face.

“Oooh, Paris! Fun! You’re doing, what, ballet?” Jake asks.

“ _Was_ doing ballet,” Gina corrects. “I think I’m gonna go back to the UK and have a cup of tea with the Queen. Hmmm, should I finally introduce her to coffee?”

“Is that my flannel?” Jake asks, squinting at a ball of cloth behind Gina. Gina grabs at it with one hand and shakes it out.

“Yup,” she confirms before tossing it away. “I stole it.”

Jake fake-gasps. “Gina! I was looking for that one! But I’m glad you have it because it brings out your eyes. Anyways, do you got any gossip? Anything to dish?” Jake asks.

“Hmmm,” Gina murmurs. “Well, I starred in this super-cool ballet a few days ago, kissed a girl—”

“Oh my god. You kissed—wait, is the ballet thing and the girl connected?” Jake asks.

“Yup. It was _acting,_ Jacob.”

“But was it _good?_ ”

“Yes, it was good,” Gina says and rolls her eyes as Jake begins to fan his face.

“Do you _like_ her!!” Jake squeals with excitement for his best friend.

“We’re friends,” Gina says casually. “I think. Besides, she went back to New York, where she lives.” Gina picks up a nearby DVD of “27 Dresses” and examines it for a moment before tossing it onto the coffee table.

“Wait, was that the movie I gave you like three years ago?” Jake asks.

“Yup,” Gina confirms. “Anyways, how’s your girlfriend!? What’s her name—Anna?”

“Amy. I know you know her name, Gina,” Jake says. “And she’s not my girlfriend!” he whines.

Gina raises an eyebrow as Jake opens his mouth to continue.

“She’s my _wife_ and you were _at_ the wedding!! You know, right before I got transferred to the precinct that I work in right now?” Jake grins, thinking about the love of his life.

“Oh, yeah. I remember that. There were a lot of… flowers,” Gina says. “How did you two even meet again? I keep forgetting.”

Jake smiles, and Gina fights back a smile herself. She knows that Jake never tires of telling this story; it’s why she prompts him to do so whenever she gets the chance to. Jake gets a dreamy look in his eyes as he begins telling his story.

“So in the third grade, we were all assigned pen pals. Amy was mine. Her letters were the fanciest I had ever seen. We stayed in touch after the school year went by, and we became friends! I could literally tell her anything and she was so understanding. And then we… just progressed. Met in real life, fell in love, you know, the works.”

The sound of an “Aww, babe,” comes into the background of Jake’s side of the phone.

“Hi, Amy,” Gina rolls her eyes. “You’re a dork.”

“Love you too, Gina!” Amy says and disappears.

“So,” Jake continues. “You and this girl. Do you _like_ her like her?” he asks with a gleam in his eyes.

Gina wrinkles her nose. “Ugh, no. At least, I don’t _think_ so? I don’t know! Jake, you’re getting in my head! Besides, we don’t have a shot at it even if I _was_ into her. She’s probably not into me and there’s no way we could make it work even if she is.” Gina realizes that she’s rambling and readjusts her hair.

Jake looks at Gina closely. “Hey, is that a new leather jacket? Where’d you get it from?”

“Nowhere!” Gina yelps far too quickly. Jake squints at her skeptically. “Uh, the store,” Gina lies. “I went to… the mall, and there it was! Ten percent off. Bought this jacket for myself. Brand new. Definitely never owned by anyone before me.”

“Gina, you’re rambling again,” Jake says. “You sure you’re getting enough sleep over there?”

“Nope!” Gina says. “Gotta go, bye Jake!” She quickly ends the call and drops the phone into her lap, releasing a breath of relief.

Her phone buzzes again in her lap and Gina slightly jumps. She looks down at it to see a text from Milton.

 

**Milton: r u free 2night?? we could get dinner??**

Gina isn’t really sure she’s that much into Milton anymore. She’s unsure why because a few days ago, Milton had been totally cool and awesome an attractive and just Gina’s type. But… he’s just not anymore.

 

**Gina: nah i’m busy tonight**

And she pops the DVD of “27 Dresses” into the player and settles for a night in. Gina falls asleep somewhere in the middle of the movie.

She somehow ends waking up by the ending credits. Gina rubs her eyes sleepily as she leaves the TV on and walks to her bedroom. There, she opens up her laptop and sees an email from Rosa. Gina’s lips turn upwards as she opens it. Rosa must have written it when she had waken up in Brooklyn.

 

**Hey, G!**

**Sorry, but New York didn’t say anything to you, because New York can’t talk. And I’m glad that you’re enjoying your life! Have fun in Paris!! How about you come to New York instead of me wasting money on a ticket to Paris, huh? I hear Beyoncé might be performing here sometime soon.**

**Dude, when I was in the third grade, I had the pen pal project too. I got assigned to some guy named Marcus who was pretty nice for a nine-year-old. But then at the end of the year, I told him that it wasn’t going to work out because I was going to Argentina for the summer and we couldn’t talk.**

**So yeah, I think we should be pen pals. I mean, we’re already kind of doing it since we’re writing emails. Now our status can go from “unofficial pen pals” to “official pen pals.” Hooray.**

**And by the way, you look great in my leather jacket.**

**Okay, I just read over this email and maybe I sound a little bit stupid. So here’s your reminder: if you leak these emails, you’ll never see the light of day ever again. Trust me.**

**Rosa** **🌹**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so concept: gina always wears the flannel that she stole from jake and rosa doesn't know that it's originally jake's she just thinks it's gina's (and it's covered in gina's smell and all) so she steals it from gina and starts wearing it and then jake sees it and he's all like "WHERE DID U GET MY FLANNEL FROM" to be continued


	15. how dare anyone suggest that rosa has FEELINGS?! how DARE they!??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa doesn't have feelings, okay? And if she does, then they are certainly not directed towards Gina Linetti!! Everyone stop saying that Rosa is in love with Gina! She certainly ISN'T and she's certainly NOT having it!! Gina's just a friend that Rosa occasionally thinks about kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god this chapter killed me. i should just rename this whole fic to something like "you will die while reading this. i wrote this whole entire fic while sleepwalking from my grave."

                                                                                                   

**Dear Rosa,**

**I won’t tell anyone that the famous Rosa Diaz has gone soft and is writing emails to the fabulous Gina Linetti, okay? But trust me girl, I could take you down in a fight. Yeah, I know that you’ve got the inside of your jackets lined up with knives and daggers and machetes and even throwing stars (you certainly have good weaponry style), but I have something else: the INTERNET. Now, I’m not saying that I’m actually gonna do anything to you, but I just gotta let you know that I currently have more power than you. You can try throwing a knife at me, but I can guarantee you that it won’t even reach the Atlantic Ocean.**

**Anyways, what is _up_ , girl!! I’ve decided that I’m gonna move locations pretty soon!! Scotland sounds nice, doesn’t it? I’m looking to rent a cheap apartment in Glasgow and maybe dabble in some art and choreography! I know you’ve been to a shit-ton of places, so have you been to Glasgow?? **

**So you know how I’ve been having kind of a _thing_ with Milton? Honestly, as much fun as its been, I don’t think it’s going anywhere and I’m honestly not sure what to do about him. Also, he’s being annoying lately and I just don’t wanna grab drinks with him anymore. I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.**

**Okay, Beyoncé is _not_ coming to New York anytime soon, Rosie. You’re trying to lure me to the U.S. and it’s honestly very flattering. Really though, I might consider visiting New York, maybe see what the losers from the American Ballet Academy are up to!!**

**Also, bitch, I _know_ I look great in your leather jacket. I did find about a thousand weapons in it (how did you pass airport security??!!) and I’d like to inform you that there is now a small box in my closet labelled as “Rosa’s box of things to take over the world and throw bad guys in jail.”**

**And also don’t you dare pen pal break up with me. I _will_ hunt you down and destroy you. **

**Gina** **💯**

Rosa’s sitting at her desk in the bullpen when she reads Gina’s email. It leaves her quite baffled—Gina has _guts._ And Rosa’s starting to think that Gina isn’t as afraid of her as she’s thought.

Rosa kicks her feet up on top of her desk and sighs softly. She’s been having a long day at work and Gina’s email is honestly cheering her up considerably. Rosa reads the email over another time, contemplating on what to write back.

It’s a long email. There’s a lot of information in it. Well, now Rosa knows that Gina will not hesitate to destroy just about _anyone_ (Rosa knows that Gina won’t though) and that she could probably destroy Thanos with just one tweet.

And Rosa kind of really wants Gina to come to New York. Rosa only has about two friends, and Gina’s one of them. It would be really nice to see Gina in the flesh again.

Also, Milton??? Rosa has suspected that he had something going on with Gina (no, she’s not _jealous;_ why would someone even imply that she’s jealous of Milton?? Rosa’s not gay for Gina. Who even said that!? Rosa doesn’t _have_ feelings, let along feelings for Gina Linetti. That would be insane. And no, she’s not denying her feelings for Gina Linetti in her head because she doesn’t _have_ feelings. That’s insane. Everyone just shut up. Rosa isn’t in love with Gina or anything.) but she didn’t know that Gina and Milton  _actually_ had a thing.

If she’s being honest, she’s kind of glad that Gina isn’t that into Milton anymore. (No, it’s not because she’s _jealous!_ Stop saying that! It’s because Rosa finds Milton to be kind of a dull guy, not because she has _feelings_ for Gina! Rosa is _not_ into Gina. She just thinks that Gina deserves happiness and Milton isn’t the right guy to give her happiness. Rosa doesn’t like Gina like that! They’re just friends!!)

“Hey, Rosa!” Jake’s voice interrupts Rosa’s train wreck of thoughts. Rosa quickly returns to focus on her computer and changes the tab before Jake can see the email. The last thing that Rosa needs is people knowing that she’s got a _pen pal._

“Sup?” she says as nonchalantly as she can. “You finished with your interrogation?”

“Yeah!” Jake replies enthusiastically. “It was _so_ easy. My guitar trick _finally_ worked!”

“No it didn’t,” Terry interrupts, walking over to Rosa’s desk and setting down a tall stack of files on her desk. “The perp confessed when I showed him the evidence we had. You were just busy screaming, Jake.”

Rosa snorts, eyeing the stack of files that Terry’s just put down on her desk. “And those are for…?” she questions, thinking about slamming her head into the wall if Terry says that the files are extra work for her.

“Oh these?” Terry slightly flexes as he looks down at the stack. “These are old files I was just carrying around with me today for the workout. You know, cause Captain Holt said that I can’t bring my dumbbells to work anymore.” Terry frowns as he eyes Captain Holt’s office door. Rosa exhales with relief as Terry continues. “You good with your case?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rosa says. In all honesty, Rosa doesn’t know where the hell her case is going, but she’s sure she’ll solve it soon. She just wants to get home and get some rest. Oh, and write Gina back, too.

“You were working on a case?” Jake asks as Terry walks away with his heavy files. “Oooh, which one?” He leans in closer to Rosa’s computer, squinting at the tabs. Rosa quickly smashes the power button with her fist, watching in satisfaction as the screen goes black.

“Oh, no,” Rosa deadpans. “Must have run out of battery.”

Jake skeptically looks at her. “Are you sure? The desktops are plugged in all the time—”

“Gotta go,” Rosa interrupts abruptly. She grabs her jacket and hightails straight out of the bullpen.

When Rosa gets home, she opens up her laptop and glances as the time. It’s probably very late in Paris and Gina is most likely asleep by now. Regardless, Rosa begins writing her an email, knowing fully well that Gina will read it when the sun rises in Paris.

 

            **Hi, Gina.**

**Okay, so I can pin you to the ground with a knife to your throat or nail you in the head with a nun chuck. You can click a “send tweet” button. Trust me, Gina, if I wanted to fight you, then I _would_ get on a plane on a minute’s notice. But I’m not gonna fight you and you’re not gonna fight me, so let’s call it even.**

**Okay, I’ve been to Glasgow. It’s a nice place. They have a really great ballet program there, and a really good theatre. Glasgow is actually the first place I went to the opera. I was gonna go to my first opera at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, but I got sick and had to miss it. I think you would have fun in Glasgow. You’d kill it over there, Gina.**

**If you don’t like Milton, then do me a favor and do whatever makes you happy. Don’t go out with him. I mean, if you’re going to Glasgow anyways, long distance probably won’t work. If he’s annoying, then just leave him, okay? Chase your own happiness, Gina.**

**And yeah, I might be trying to lure you to New York. It would be nice to see you again, you know, meeting up with a friend!! Trust me, Gina, you would have the time of your _life_ here. But if you moved to Glasgow, I would have no problem flying over there because I haven’t been to Scotland for a hot minute and I’d like to go back there soon.**

**Bitch, I’m not gonna pen pal break up with you. You’re actually fun to write to; my old pen pal was ten years old and nice, but an overall douche bag. He had too many feelings and it was overwhelming. But you’re cool though.**

**I know you’re gonna read this in the morning, so I hope you’ve had a really good night and I just wanna let you know that you’re a superstar.**

**Rosa** **🌹**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY IS IT SUCH A SLOW BURN I NEED TO STOP


	16. gina has a cRUSH! gina has a CRUSH! gina's falling in LOVE!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina Linetti has... complicated feelings for Rosa Diaz?? So complicated that she's gonna take Rosa's advice and dump Milton Boyle?? Is it just me or is Gina already hardcore in love with Rosa Diaz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> la la la la la i can't hear u over the sound of how terrible this chapter is!!

                                                                                                      

When Gina wakes up in the morning, the first thing she does it check her email. Her eyes immediately land on the email from Rosa, and she opens it with eagerness.

Gina doesn’t scan the email over quickly and toss it into the trash like she does with all of her other emails; she reads it fully and thoroughly. A smile breaks out onto her face and she nearly gags upon smelling her morning breath. Gina abandons the email and makes a beeline for the bathroom.

After she’s showered and brushed her teeth, Gina sits down to comprehend the email. A) Rosa’s telling her that they’re both deadly forces that could take over the world, b) Rosa’s telling her that Glasgow is a nice place to live, c) Rosa’s telling her to follow her heart and dump Milton, d) Rosa wants her to come to New York and visit, e) she and Rosa are friends, and f) Rosa Diaz called her a superstar.

Obviously, Gina’s a superstar. She hears it _all_ the time, like she deserves to. But from Rosa Diaz? It’s a considerably large compliment. Rosa rarely ever compliments people.

She doesn’t write back Rosa right away; she’s not even completely sure what to say. Instead, Gina pours herself a bowl of cereal and carries it outside to the balcony to eat. She does her best to ignore her neighbor Burt as he hums an annoying tune while watering his potted plants.

“Hey, Gina!” Burt calls over, waving enthusiastically.

“Why are you so cheerful. It’s like nine in the morning,” Gina mutters under her breath. “Listen to some Beyoncé for once in your goddamn life.”

“How are you doing?” Burt asks in a thick accent, apparently not having heard Gina’s words.

Right on cue, Gina’s cell phone rings. “Gotta take this!” she says, flashing him a bright smile. She abandons the cereal on the balcony and heads inside to take the call.

“Hi hi hi!” Jake positively beams from the other end of the line. “Wassup, G?”

“Ugh, it’s like nine in the morning,” Gina mutters for the second time that day.

“Actually, it’s like _four_ in the morning!” Jake says energetically. “And I can’t sleep!”

“How many orange sodas did you have?”

“Six! Anyways, Gina, Amy and my anniversary is coming up. I was thinking of whisking her off to a romantic getaway in Paris—”

“Bitch you know I _live_ here!” Gina sulks.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling! I could come visit you! It’s been _ages_ since we last saw each other, Gina, and I’d love to catch up,” Jake chirps.

“You saw me the other day on facetime,” Gina points out. “Oh, but what the hell. If you really wanna come, then bring presents,” she says. “Also, I can probably pick you up from the airport. I’ll just steal my friend’s car.”

“Thanks, Gina,” Jake says. “I can’t wait! Actually, we can’t wait! Amy’s gonna _love_ seeing you again.”

Gina sighs loudly. “Ugh, don’t remind me,” she says. “Text me, m’kay?”

After she gets off the phone with Jake, Gina pulls open her laptop and mulls over what to write to Rosa. She reads the email that Rosa sent her over again and stops short. “Still gotta—” she mumbles, whipping out her phone and opening her texts with Milton.

 

**Gina: no offense but ur kinda annoying and there’s no way I wanna go to Utah over the summer to meet your family**

**Gina: Utah isn’t a real state lol**

**Gina: oh yeah we’re over srry byee**

And _then_ she sits down to write Rosa back. The words don’t come easy to her. Gina stops multiple times in between to check her twitter feed, make herself a cup of coffee, and take a few selfies. But eventually, she’s got a half-decent email written that probably won’t make her look like an idiot

 

            **Hey, Rosie!!!**

**I dumped Milton, and it was _hilarious._ To me, probably not him. I don’t know what he’s gonna say yet because he hasn’t read the texts yet.**

**Anyways, it’s spring and it’s about to be gross love-season. I feel like Paris is gonna be overflowed with gross lovebirds over the next few weeks. I’d love to pack my bags and get out of here already to avoid the love-sickness, but I have a friend coming to Paris to visit. With his wife. I can already picture the gross heart eyes.**

**Anyways, how have _you_ been? I know you’re gonna end up visiting me wherever I go because I’m irresistible, but you know what? I might come and visit you someday! I’m glad that we’re pen pals (again, if you leak these emails you WILL die). It’s nice talking to someone who’s my equal; we’re both far superior to all of the dodo brains that surround us.**

**Well, let me know what’s going on in the Diaz world! (also good morning when you read this!!)**

**Gina** **💯**

Gina clicks the send button quickly before she can change her mind and erase the whole email. She shuts her laptop and walks over the balcony door, peering outside to see if her annoying neighbor Burt is still there.

He is, so Gina just sighs and goes to pour herself another bowl of cereal instead of grabbing the one sitting outside. She’s rather let the pigeons take it than have another confrontation with Burt.

But then there are a few knocks on her door. Gina abandons the cereal on her table and walks over to open the door and see who it is.

Milton Boyle stands in the doorway with a sorrowful expression on his face. “Gina Linetti spaghetti confetti, why do you not like me anymore?”

Gina holds up a hand. “Okay, first of all, do _not_ call me that. Only _I’m_ allowed to call me that. Second of all, great! You got my texts! Bye!” She shuts the door in his face.

Another series of knocks echo through her apartment. Gina sighs and opens the door a crack, raising her eyebrow as she glares at Milton. “What?”

“Can you just tell me _why?_ Why are you breaking up with me like this, Gina?” Milton pleads.

“Because I don’t like you anymore. I… like someone else,” Gina confesses, surprised to hear these words coming out of her mouth.

Milton scratches the top of his head. “Who?” he asks.

“None of your business,” Gina mutters. “Someone who is far more superior than you. Someone who matches my level of ambition and intelligence.”

“The biker dude from the bar last week? Really? Come on, Gina! I could beat him in… whatever!” Milton says.

“Yeah, you could probably beat him in a ballet contest,” Gina mutters. “Nah, someone else. Go away. Bye.” She shuts the door again, satisfied to hear no further knocking.

Yeah, so she kind of might like Rosa Diaz. So what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> concept: rosa & gina fall in love and then they tell each other and meet up. they make out and get married. comment if u agree


	17. rosa everything you're writing to gina is VERY gay just please accept that you're in love with the woman.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa's dealing with feelings. It's... interesting, because Rosa just doesn't know what to do with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this is the worst slow burn ever like watch them get together in like chapter 56 and by that time i will probably also be like 56 years old i'm so sorry for torturing u guys trust me i am torturing myself with this as well but i just can't seem to stop

                                                                                                           

“Bye, Rosa!” Jake says at 5:01 PM the next day. “You’re not going to see me and Amy for the next week because we’re going to Paris!”

“Amy and _I,”_ Amy corrects under her breath from a few feet away.

“Yeah, that,” Jake says.

Rosa rolls her eyes. “I know. It’s all you guys have talked about for the past few days. Blah, blah, you’re going to Paris. Whatever.”

Hitchcock walks by with his hand stuck in a jar of jelly. “Jake and Amy are going _where?”_ he asks in disbelief.

“They’re going home, Hitchcock,” Scully says. “You can tell because Jakey’s got his bag.”

“Oh,” Hitchcock says, nodding appreciatively.

“Ugh, we’re going to Paris,” Jake mutters.

“He’s got a point, actually,” Rosa says. “You guys _are_ going home before leaving for Paris.” She picks up her half-empty coffee mug and wrinkles her nose as she drains the rest of it.

“Why are you drinking coffee in the afternoon?” Amy asks, walking over.

Rosa wipes her mouth. “Because I can’t open a bottle of wine yet,” she says. “And I’m too sober to listen to you guys gush about your love life.” She sets the empty mug back down on her desk.

Truth be told, Rosa’s kind of jealous of Jake and Amy. They’re going to Paris, the one place she _really_ really wants to be. Rosa wants to go to Paris because… there’s someone quite special in Paris that she wants to see.

Gina Linetti. Rosa opens up her most recent email when she gets home and settles down on the couch as she writes Gina back.

 

**G,**

**Hope your breakup goes alright, I guess. I don’t exactly know what to say. And you’re so right—my friend is actually going to Paris sometime later too. And he’s already super gross lovey-dovey whenever he’s drunk, so I can’t imagine what’s gonna happen to him in Paris.**

**I’ve been good! Work has been a lot recently, but I’m pulling through it. I wish I could come and visit Paris right now, but I unfortunately can’t. I don’t think I would even want to visit Paris around this season, just only to visit you.**

**Yeah, I’m glad that you’re not a dum-dum. We actually get each other, you know? And it’s a really nice feeling. You should come visit me, you know (It’s all we do—tell each other to come and visit without actually doing it).**

**The Diaz world is going great. I think. Maybe. I’m actually not sure. I’m thinking about maybe coming out to my parents?? But it may be a really stupid and crazy idea because my parents probably wouldn’t accept me.**

**Anyways, Gina, I’m reading this at 5:44 PM because I didn’t open my email this morning because of work, but good morning! :)**

**Rosa** **🌹**

She hits the send button with her thumb before contemplating what she had just written. _Coming out to her parents?_ It was a thought that had just occurred to her, and she doesn’t even know _why._ Her life has been private for like ever, so why is Rosa thinking about opening up to her parents now of all times?

Rosa sighs and shuts her laptop. She sets it on the coffee table in front of her before flipping through the channels on the TV. Rosa lies on her couch, idly watching the TV and checking her phone from time to time.

It’s around seven when she gets a notification for a new email. Rosa opens it to see that Gina has written her back already.

 

            **Rosie,**

**Okay, so the breakup was actually really funny. He was left super dumbfounded. I think he was gonna propose to me or something. Also, he’s super jealous of whoever seems to have captured my heart.**

**Ugh, when my friend comes over with his wife, I’m gonna _die._ I mean, I’ll be super glad to see him and all, but I don’t want him to like pity me and try setting me up with someone. I don’t need all of that.**

**Also, you’re super cool and strong and good and you can do all of your work! I don’t really know how to give motivational speeches, sorry. And you should totally come and visit! Even through gross-love season, because we can pull through it together.**

**Coming out to your parents is totally up to you! It’s your decision, Rosie. If you want to tell them, then you can tell them. If you don’t, then don’t. And if they don’t accept you for who you are, then it’s their terrible loss. You’re wonderful, Rosa, and anyone who doesn’t see that is a moron.**

**Have a good night, then, Rosie! (Also, if you wanna FaceTime anytime soon, then I’m down for that.)**

**Gina** **💯**

Rosa smiles to herself before typing up a reply.

 

            **Gina,**

**First of all, go to bed. It’s like after midnight in Paris.**

**I mean, you definitely don’t need to be set up with anyone! ~~(you got me!)~~**

**Anyways, thanks. It’s really nice to read everything you just said. You’re kind of good at motivational speeches?**

**Sweet dreams!**

**Rosa** **🌹**

Five minutes later, her phone rings and Rosa answers it to see Gina’s face looming at her in the darkness. “Hold on—” Gina says, and the screen fills with light as she flicks on a lamp. “Hi,” Gina grins.

“Oh,” Rosa says. All she can do is stare at Gina’s face, because Gina looks absolutely perfect. Rosa’s eyes trail down to Gina’s lips before Gina coughs slightly.

“Eyes up here, dork,” Gina says.

“What?” Rosa says. “Hi. Also, you’re the dork, not me.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure that _you’re_ the dork.”

“No, you are.”

“No, I’m not. _You_ are.”

“Gina, why aren’t you asleep?” Rosa asks, giving up the argument.

“Hmm?” Gina says, knocking over an alarm clock behind her that reads **1:34**. “I don’t have to go into ballet school tomorrow. At least, I don’t think. What day is it again?”

“Wednesday,” Rosa replies. “I mean, Thursday for you.”

“Oh, shi—it!” Gina drawls out. “I _do_ have to go into ballet school tomorrow. I mean, today. Whatever.” She tucks an auburn curl behind her ear and beams up at Rosa. “Hey, Rosa, you look really good by the way,” Gina says.

Rosa coughs a little self-consciously. “Thanks,” she mumbles, slightly embarrassed for some reason. “Uh, you do too.”

“I know,” Gina says self-assertively. “I _always_ look fantastic. Thank you for noticing. Anyways, girl, so what’s up with your parents, huh? I’m _great_ at giving advice.”

“Oh, I know,” Rosa says. “Um, I’ve never been super close to my parents. Like, I only call them on holidays. And they don’t know much about whatever’s going on with me. So…” Rosa trails off with uncertainty. She looks into Gina’s bright blue eyes for a moment before looking away. “I guess I’m scared of coming out to them,” Rosa finishes.

“Oh,” Gina says. “You wanna hear my story? Maybe to give you some inspiration?” She unwraps a bar of chocolate and takes a bite of it.

“Sure.”

“Well, I was living in Queens, and there was this diner that my friends and I used to hang out with. I met a girl there, and I liked her. Like more than a friend. And we were in high school, so we messed around and stuff like that. And then I actually decided that I _really_ liked her, and that I wanted to keep that girl in my life. So I introduced her to my mom,” Gina says.

“How’d she take it?” Rosa asks curiously.

“She was totally fine with it, because my mom’s super chill. She just saw how happy I was with that girl and that was all it took for her,” Gina answers. She takes another bite of chocolate and chews slowly.

“And your dad?”

“He left when I was a baby,” Gina says.

“Oh,” Rosa says numbly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

“What happened to the girl?”

“Oh, her! We got engaged when we were like twenty-two or something but then we broke up because she moved away. But then I started dating this guy who was in a rock band—”

Rosa zones out while Gina talks about the drummer she had dated. Rosa’s thinking more about coming out to her parents: why exactly does she want to do it? Is it because of some girl, like in Gina’s story?

With a shock, Rosa realizes that _yes_ , it _is_ because of a girl. Rosa wants to come out to her parents because of _Gina._ Gina’s making her feel _more._ Rosa… has a crush on Gina? Or is in love with Gina? Or something?

Rosa feels confused. But what she does know, is that she wants Gina Linetti in her life for a very long time, if not forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> concept: rosa flies to paris. she meets gina and they dance together under the stars. then gina proposes to her. they get married. the end. (someone should write that story)


	18. jake u don't have to set gina up with rosa without telling her that it's rosa. also, gina's already in love with rosa. surprise!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's confirmed. Gina has feelings for Rosa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also full disclosure: i know very well that they are all. very stupid. everything is happening under their noses. their lives are so intertwined and they don't even know it. theyre all so dumb. detectives??? smh

                                                                                                        

A week later, Gina picks up Jake and his wife (Annie??) from the airport. Jake chatters excitedly through the entire car ride. "Hey, Amy!" (Amy!! That's her name!!) he says. "Can you believe that we're in Paris? This is amazing!"

"Sorry," Amy says apologetically to Gina. "He had a little too much caffeine cause he's afraid of jet lag."

"Oh girl, I've seen Jake at much worse," Gina assures Amy. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh my god, once someone dosed his water with caffeine and it was concerning but pretty funny. Jake had nine-hundred cups of coffee in his system," Amy narrates. She looks out of the window and marvels over the sight of Paris.

"Sounds fun," Gina says. "Anyways, here's the plan. You guys come over to my place for breakfast, and then you go to your hotel so you won't puke lovesickness anywhere near me. Deal?"

"Oh, sure!" Jake chirps. "You do _not_ wanna know what Amy and I will get into tonight― I used good grammar! Did you hear that, babe?!" He looks over to Amy who rolls her eyes affectionately. Jake turns to Gina. "You know what using good grammar gets me? Well, I'm not gonna say―" he stops speaking for only three seconds. "Sex! It gets me sex."

"Gross, Jacob," Gina says and wrinkles her nose. "I'm gonna turn on some music―" she presses a few buttons and drowns the whole car out with the sound of Rihanna.

Ten minutes later, they're all in Gina's apartment. Jake looks around appreciatively. "I love your place!" he says. "Oooh, a balcony! D'you think I could Die-Hard off of this building?" Jake goes to tug open the sliding door, but Amy pulls him back.

"Hey, can I grab a shower?" Amy asks. Gina nods and directs her to the bathroom before glancing over at Jake. He's passed out on the couch, so Gina retreats to her own bedroom and sits down on her bed to check her phone.

Rosa hasn't written her anything yet, so Gina ends up turning off her phone and looking up at her open closet. There, right in front of her, hangs Rosa's leather jacket. Gina stands up and walks over to it. She takes it off of the hanger and pulls it on.

A minute later, she's back in the living room, standing over sleeping Jake with two pans in her hand. She bangs them together, efficiently waking Jake up.

"Huh? Where's the fire?" Jake mumbles. Gina rolls her eyes and pokes him.

"You're in Paris, dumb-head. You're not allowed to sleep in my company," Gina says.

"Oh, Gina. Heyyy, girl!" Jake says, peering up at her. "So, what are we doing?"

Gina sits down on the couch. "We're catching up," she says. "What's going on back home?"

Jake and Gina chat for a few minutes before Jake gets all lovesick on her. "Oh my god, I love Amy so so much. She' my _everything,_ Gina. I love her to the ends of the world and back. She's so amazing," he grins before catching Gina's uninterested expression. "Gina, I want you to have someone too. Oh, hey, there's this girl I know back home, and i feel like you'd _love_ her. She's badass and scary and super smart. I think she'd like you too."

Gina rolls her eyes. She's not interested in being set up with anyone. Gina already has a badass scary super smart girl in her life― it's Rosa. And Gina's ninety percent sure that she's already in love with Rosa.

"Jake, I'm fine. I don't need that right now," Gina says.

"No, really!" Jake says, grabbing a notepad and a pen from the coffee table. He tears off a strip of paper and scribbles down a number. "Here's her number," Jake says, sticking it into the pocket of Gina's leather jacket. "You should call her. Also if you come to New York, I think you would totally end up doing it with her."

Gina wrinkles her nose. "Ugh, Jake, no."

"Am I interrupting something?" Amy's uncertain voice comes from behind them. Gina whips around to see Amy standing in fresh clothes, with slightly damp hair.

"Nope," Gina says. "Topic closed, next."

"Oh, hey, Ames! I was just tryna find Gina love!" Jake beams. He scoots over on the couch and pats it. Amy sits down next to them.

A few knocks sound on the door and Gina hops up. "And that must be the delivery guy," she professes, walking over to open the door.

Milton Boyle stands in front of her with a delivery cap on his head and a bag of pastries in his hand.

"What are you doing here!" Gina hisses at him, grabbing the bag of pastries from him. "And since when have you been a delivery guy!"

"Part-time job, boo," he says.

Gina wrinkles her nose. "Ugh, don't call me that. Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you," Milton says. "Are you sure that this has to be over?"

"Oh my god, just take the money and go," Gina says irritably, thrusting a few euros at him.

"Hey," Jake walks over to the door and opens it a little bit more to see Milton. "Is there a problem or something?"

"Oh my god, Gina," Milton says in disbelief, looking Jake up and down. "Is this the new guy you're seeing? I am _so_ much better!"

Jake and Gina both gag. "What? No, gross! Ugh!"

"Get out of here, Milton!" Gina says.

"And for the record, you are _not_ so much better than me!" Jake calls as Gina slams the door shut. He turns to Gina as they walk back into the apartment. "Who _was_ that guy? He looked kind of familiar."

"That was my ex," Gina mutters.

"Wait, what?" Jake turns to Gina. "I didn't know you were going through a breakup. I'm so sorry, Gina," he says.

Gina holds up her hand. "Please don't," she says. "Milton and I are long done. I don't like him at all. I have a big crush on someone else."

"Oooh, girl, spill!" Jake says eagerly as Gina sets the pastries on the table.

"Well, she's a dancer. She's super talented and badass and skilled and we've been texting and emailing a lot. There are definitely sparks. Oh, yeah, she's the girl I kissed at the ballet," Gina says with nonchalance.

Jake's eyes nearly pop out. "Oh my god, my best friend is in love!" he says.

"Babe, you're acting like Charles," Amy says from behind them. "Hey, Gina, I can help with that."

They talk a little bit more in the kitchen before Amy squints at Gina's jacket. "Hey, where'd you get that jacket?" she asks. Gina self-consciously tugs the jacket tighter around herself.

"Around. Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Amy says. "My friend has a jacket eerily similar to that one."

"Mhhmmm," Gina says, dismissing this and popping an eclair in her mouth. "You guys are being boring. Do you have anything planned?"

Amy perks up and begins talking rapidly. "Oh my goodness, I have so many activities planned! We're gonna go to the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe, and you know, your regular tourist stuff, but there's also this abandoned railroad called _La Petite Ceinture_ that we're gonna go see! I did some reading on it―"

"I know," Gina interrupts. "I've been. It's really cool."

Jake, Amy, and Gina have breakfast and then spend a few more hours together, talking and laughing. Gina feels wonderful. She's having a great day.

When Jake and Amy leave, Gina checks her phone. She's pleased to see another email from Rosa.

 

**Gina,**

**Hey, girl. What's up? Just wanted to remind you that you're amazing and wonderful and beautiful! I hope you're having a good day.**

**Rosa** **🌹**

 

Gina smiles to herself. She pulls out the strip of paper with the number that Jake had written down for her from the pocket of her (Rosa's) leather jacket. Without even looking at it, Gina shreds it to pieces. She sprinkles the paper into the trash can. As long as Gina has Rosa, she doesn't need to be set up with any friend of Jake's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow they were both talking about rosa!!! surprise surprise!!! if gina had paid attention to the phone number on the paper, she would've known!! everything would have been exposed!!! (and this is valid because who's saying that gina doesn't have rosa's phone number memorized?? she knows all of rosa's contact info by heart)  
> okay good night 🤷


	19. tell me everything's gonna be okay one more time and i WILL fall in love with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the time of the Notre Dame fire, Gina is in Paris, along with Jake and Amy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this chapter is basically just about the notre dame fire because jake, gina, and amy were in paris at the time, okay.

                                                                                                               

It's merely a few days later when Gina Linetti gets some of the most terrifying news of her life. It's not _terrifying,_ per say, because Gina knows that shit happens in the world all the time and things have a way of working out, but still. It's heartbreaking news for her.

Jake and Amy are still in Paris. Right after Gina sees the news on the internet and hears it being shouted in the streets, Amy calls her from Jake's phone. "Did you hear?!" she asks desperately. "There's a fire―"

Gina cuts off the phone and grabs a light windbreaker. She clutches her phone to her chest and darts out of the apartment.

There is a crowd of people in the street, all moving in different directions. Most of them are heading exactly where Gina intends on going, but some run in the opposite direction. Gina pushes through the throngs of people and dashes the few blocks left to the heart of Paris.

And she sees it. Smoke billows from the top of the cathedral. A raging orange-red fire swamps the roof of the Notre Dame, and Gina Linetti feels heartbreak and hurt and pain and sorrow all in one. To be _seeing_ the burning building there in person. To be _witnessing_ tragic history.

The wind blows wisps of smoke through the crowd of people. Gina turns on her phone and does the only thing that she can think of― she calls Rosa.

While she's waiting for Rosa to answer, Gina hears her name being called over the hushed murmurs of the people. She whips around to see Jake and Amy pushing through the crowd of people. Jake has a somber expression on his face, and Amy has a tear in the corner of her eye.

Rosa picks up the phone. "Gina," her rough voice echoes through Gina's ears, "What's going on."

"The cathedral's burning. I― I'm right there. I can see it," Gina says quietly into the phone. "This is kinda really scary."

"I'm watching the news," Rosa tells her. "The Notre Dame's getting a _lot_ of coverage. But it'll be okay," Rosa assures Gina. "It's survived wars; it's survived a fire a long time ago, and it'll survive this."

From next to her, Amy whimpers. "We were in there just yesterday," she mumbles. Jake puts an arm around his wife and hugs her protectively.

Gina narrates all that Rosa had just said to Jake and Amy. "It's survived wars. It's survived a fire a long time ago. It'll survive this," Gina says in a monotone voice.

"What?" Rosa asks in confusion from the other end of the phone.

"Oh, I was telling what you told me to some friends," Gina says. She feels numb. The Notre Dame is burning in front of her eyes. Gina's been inside of the cathedral too many times to remember.

"See, it's going to be okay―" Rosa starts. Gina gasps, not listening to Rosa. The flames have reached the spire of the cathedral, and the spire looks dangerously close to falling. "What?" Rosa demands. "What happened?"

"The spire," Gina whispers. "I think it's gonna fall."

She's right. It does fall, right before everyone's eyes. Gina bites her lip and glances over at Jake and Amy. Jake is as still as a statue, watching the flames eat up the roof of the cathedral. Amy has tears running down her face. Absentmindedly, Gina reaches out to pat Amy on the shoulder.

To Rosa, she mumbles, "It fell."

"I know," Rosa answers. "I'm seeing the live coverage. We all are― we're at work. I have it on my computer, and there are like two other people who've got it on theirs. We're all watching. I― I'm so sorry that this is happening, Gina."

"Yeah," Gina says. "It's terrible."

"Well, there aren't any reports of injury so far," Rosa says in an attempt to cheer Gina up.

Nearby, a reporter pushes past Gina. "We are live at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and right now, we're seeing firefighters being sent in to fight the flames that are eating at the Notre Dame. The spire has just fallen―"

Gina tunes out the reporter's words and glances over at Jake and Amy again. Amy's done crying― she stares at the cathedral as if she doesn't believe what's happening and Jake continues standing still. It's the longest Gina's seen him stand still like a statue, and she's starting to worry for him more than she's worrying for the cathedral.

"Gina?" Rosa's concerned voice breaks Gina's train of thought. "You still there?"

"Yeah," Gina nods. "I'm still here. And I feel like I'm gonna be here for a while."

"It's going to be okay," Rosa repeats. "Trust me, rich people will be lining up along the block to pay for repair costs," she says.

"Yeah," Gina says. "I― thank you. You always make me feel better with whatever you say."

Gina doesn't know this, but Rosa's sitting at her desk in the bullpen at the Ninety-Ninth precinct, blushing. She coughs and hides the side of her face with her hand so that Charles Boyle doesn't see the faint pink spreading across her cheeks.

"Mhmm," Rosa manages. "Cool. Cool." She doesn't manage to get out the third "cool," because Charles has caught wind of something suspicious going on at Rosa's desk. He leans over, squinting at the live feed of the Notre Dame on her computer and then looks at the phone pressed to her ear.

"Who're you talking to?" he asks eagerly.

"No one," Rosa says.

From Paris, Gina frowns. "What's going on, babe? Is everything okay?" she asks, without even noticing her casual use of "babe" dropped into her dialogue to Rosa.

Back in Brooklyn, Rosa's eyes widen. "It's nothing," she manages. "I'll talk to you later." And with that, Rosa turns off her phone and sets it on her desk before looking back at Charles. "My sister. I was talking to my sister," she tells him, attempting to get Charles to move on before asking any other questions.

"But she called you babe. When my cousin called me babe at the precinct three months ago, you told me that relatives should never call each other that," Charles says.

Rosa curses under her breath. Sometimes she really hated working in a precinct full of _detectives._ "Uh, yeah. I was talking to a woman who isn't my sister, okay? I'm bi," she mumbles, loudly enough for only Charles to hear.

Charles's eyes widen. "Oh, Rosa, that's great! I― that's great! I just want you to know that I totally support you―"

"I don't wanna talk about it right now," Rosa interrupts. "Leave it alone, okay?"

"Oh― okay!" Charles says. "If you ever need to talk, I'm right here." And with that, Charles shoots her a bright smile and returns to his own desk.

Rosa looks around. The bullpen feels sorta empty without Detective Jake Peralta and Sergeant Amy Santiago. She glances at Jake's desk. It's full of candy wrappers and little toys― no one would guess that Jake is on vacation in Paris.

 _Paris._ Rosa redirects her attention to the live stream of the Notre Dame on the computer in front of her, just in time to see reports of the roof collapse. Rosa grabs her phone and sees about a million frantic text messages from Amy― Jake and Amy are in Paris, in the streets, watching the fire. Rosa texts Amy the same things she had told Gina, and puts her phone down in her lap. Then, she sighs heavily and picks up her phone to call Gina again.

Gina is clutching Jake's hand in the streets of Paris when her phone rings. She checks the caller ID and quickly answers when she sees Rosa's name.

"Is everything okay?" Rosa asks.

"I mean, the roof just collapsed, but we're alright, I guess. I think they're trying to save as much art as they can," Gina says. "I― I just kinda can't believe it, you know? Those towers that are burning right now? I've _been_ there."

"I know, Gina. It hurts. I've been there a lot, too." Rosa says.

"What was your first time inside of the Notre Dame like?" Gina asks.

"I was at the American Ballet Academy when I was like, fifteen or sixteen or something. We took a trip to Paris, and I ran away from the group. There was this girl there, and she was the same age as me. Apparently, she was skipping school. She took me to the Notre Dame and we climbed the towers. And that was the first time I ever kissed a _girl_ ," Rosa reminisces.

"Oh," Gina says. "You― well, did you like it?" she asks, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Of course I did," Rosa says. "But enough of that. How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay, girl. You don't need to worry," Gina says as a group of people start singing hymns in low voices. "I think it's really gonna be okay. They're gonna put out the fire and then they're gonna rebuild it."

"Damn right they are. Okay, Gina, I gotta go, but call me if you need me, okay? I'm right here for you." And with that, the line goes dead. Gina takes the phone away from her ear and looks over to Jake and Amy. Amy's furiously typing something on the notes app on her phone, and Jake looks over her shoulder.

"C'mon, babe, it's all right," Jake says.

"What's up?" Gina asks.

"Gotta change the whole entire binder," Amy mutters. "Didn't know that this was gonna happen."

"None of us did," Jake says. "But hey, at least we got to go see it before this happened, right?"

Amy nods, not looking up from her phone. Gina glances up, hoping to see some change, some reduction in flames, but the fire roars on at the top of the cathedral.

"Who were you talking to?" Jake inquires.

"A friend," Gina says. "Who I think I might be in love with."

"Huh?" Jake asks. "I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

"Nothing," Gina mumbles. "Don't worry about it." Jake reaches over and grabs Gina's hand with reassurance. 

"Everything's gonna be okay," he says, hugging Amy close with his other arm.

Gina goes home later that night, when things start to look up. She's exhausted, and she barely glances at the email notification from Rosa before collapsing into bed, fully clothed. She buries her face into a pillow and falls into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yeah big established fact: rosa and gina r fallin in love!!! how dramatic lmao


	20. love. lOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. love. love love love. no doubt, no doubt.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Chapter Summary contains spoilers for the chapter down below. Read at your own risk.  
> Jake and Amy give the squad presents from Paris. Meanwhile, Rosa and Gina exchange flirtatious messages and Rosa contemplates coming out to the squad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay first of all, note the chapter summary?? that's the first good synopsis i've ever written in my entire life.
> 
> also, i am aware that i have (had for a long time) a few dianetti prompt to start getting around to, and i'm writing this instead. i apologize for the long wait; i've written most of one dianetti prompt and have two others that i'll get around to later. thank you for your patience.
> 
> also, i did (kinda) change the name of this work?  
> previously, it was i've been waiting for the sun to rise where you are (so i can tell you you're a superstar)  
> but now i've changed the parentheses around so it's (i've been waiting for the sun to rise where you are, so i can tell you) you're a superstar, and i've done this because  
> a) these are lyrics from 'superstar' by broods ( i know, this is not a reason for simply changing the parentheses around but i'd just like to sprinkle in the fact that this is my most favorite song in the entire world)  
> b) the title was just rlly fckin long, and  
> c) i'm just gonna refer to it as "you're a superstar" from now on (or yas for short lmao)
> 
> this fic is my baby, okay??

                                                                                                

The morning that Jake and Amy are back in Brooklyn, they arrive to the precinct at 9:00 AM, right on time. Rosa looks up from her desk—she’s at work a little bit earlier than usual to take her mind off of things. Jake’s bag looks heavier thank usual, and he drops it down onto his desk.

“Hey, Rosa! We’re back from Paris!” he says happily. Rosa notes his heavy-looking eyes and the way he clenches his jaw to prevent a yawn.

“Still jet-lagged, then,” she muses.

“Yup!” Jake says, letting out a wide yawn. “But as long as I follow Amy’s sleep schedule to prevent jet-lag, I’ll be good!” He plops down onto his chair and accepts the mug of coffee that Charles brings him. “But anyways, we brought presents!” Jake pulls his bag into his lap and opens it up. He gestures everyone to come join him at his desk.

Once most of the squad is crowded around Jake’s desk, Jake pulls out a box. “For Charles,” he announces, “A wheel of gourmet cheeses!” He hands the box to Charles, who hugs it closely to his chest.

“Jake, I’m going to cherish this wonderful gift for the rest of my life! I’m going to think about you with every single delicious and savory bite of this cheese—”

Jake gags before continuing. He pulls out a beret. “Oh, hey! This is the beret I brought for Ames! Catch, babe!” He hurls it like a frisbee over to Amy, who grins and puts it on. Jake reaches into the bag and comes up with a plastic bag full of… “This is also for Charles. It’s a weird sausage thing.” Jake turns over the bag and reads the name. “Saucisson. Catch, buddy.” He throws it to Charles, who barely catches it and looks eagerly into the bag.

Next, Jake pulls out an object that intrigues Rosa—a knife. He holds it up. “This is a French knife,” he says.

“An Opinel knife,” Amy says proudly. “We got it for you, Rosa, because you’re into… scary stuff like knives.”

“Wow, thanks,” Rosa says, and accepts the knife from Jake. She holds it gingerly and unsheathes it. “This is a great gift, guys.” She turns it over in her hands and sticks the sheath into her belt. “Awesome.”

Jake pulls out two object from the bag. “For Terry!” he says. “A scented candle and an antique camera!” Jake hands the objects to Terry, who accepts them graciously.

“For Captain Holt,” Jake says, gesturing the Captain over, “A bottle of champagne and a scarf!”

“Jake spend half an hour trying to decide which scarf to get you,” Amy tells Holt, much to Jake’s embarrassment.

“Oh, and here’s a box of herbal tea for Rosa,” Jake says quickly, tossing the box over to Rosa. “And we got Hitchcock and Scully mustard.”

“Oh, nice!” Hitchcock says appreciatively. “Now we won’t have to have the garbage mustard that they have at the hot dog stand!”

“Let’s go get hot dogs now!” Scully suggests, and the pair heads over to the elevator to leave the precinct. Captain Holt merely sighs and watches them go before examining the champagne.

“Well, I for one enjoy these gifts, Peralta. Thank you,” Captain Holt says. Jake beams.

“Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool,” he mumbles. “You like them? I—” he starts to slightly tear up. “I don’t know what to say!”

“All right. There is a new case that Sergeant Jeffords is working on, and I would like you to jump onto it with him, Peralta,” Holt says. Slowly, everyone returns to their own desks and the work day resumes.

Rosa opens up her email to check if Gina’s written her back yet. To Rosa’s dismay, the email that she had sent Gina yesterday is still unread. Rosa closes her email and returns to working hard on a case, hoping to stop thinking about Gina freaking Linetti.

Gina’s in Paris, running errands. She’s buying groceries when she bumps into the ballerina Gracie at the market.

“Oh, Linetti!” Gracie says. “What’s going on?”

“Hey,” Gina says, recalling the night at the bar where Rosa had poured her heart out to Gina about Gracie. “I’m just buying—” she grabs a jar at random—“These carrot stuffed olives.” She drops the jar into her basket and sends Gracie a (fake) smile.

“I haven’t seen you at the ballet school recently,” Gracie says.

“Uh, yeah. I’m thinking about relocating. Maybe Bristol, Glasgow, Los Angeles, Manchester, _New York,_ oh, I don’t know,” Gina says. “What do you think?”

“Doesn’t Rosa Diaz live in New York?” Gracie asks.

“Why do you care?” Gina says haughtily.

“Oh, I don’t know. I kind of might be into her,” Gracie says. “Can you believe that she’s kind of famous? I mean, I’ve known her since like _forever_. I mean, I even have her number and everything.”

“So call her,” Gina says indifferently. “I don’t care.”

“Okay?” Gracie says. “Cool.”

Gina actually _does_ care. She doesn’t want Gracie calling Rosa. She doesn’t want Gracie anywhere _near_ Rosa, because Gracie has already caused Rosa so much misery. “Or don’t call her,” Gina says, “She’s probably not into you anyways.”

“Huh?’ Gracie looks confused. “Did she say that to you?”

“Yup. We talk. A lot,” Gina says.

"What, are _you_ into her or something?” Gracie accuses.

“None of your business,” Gina says, suddenly defensive. She stalks away from Gracie and heads over to the fruits section of the market.

When Gina gets home, she stocks her fridge and her cupboards up with the groceries before opening up her laptop. There, she sees an email from Rosa, sent nearly sixteen hours ago. Gina curses under her breath before opening it up.

 

            **Gina,**

**I know that things might not be the brightest right now, but I wanna assure you that everything’s gonna be okay. Just don’t lose hope. Also, you’re the most headstrong and amazing person I’ve ever met. Whenever I’m talking to you, I feel so happy. I guess you just have that kind of effect on people. I’d like to come and visit you soon.**

**Love, Rosa** **🌹**

Gina feels a bit lightheaded. _Love. Love, Rosa._ She said _Love._ Gina’s quite sure that she’s falling headfirst in _love_ with Rosa. _Love, love, love, love, love._ Rosa Diaz said _love_ to her. Gina feels super giddy as she begins drafting her email to Rosa.

 

            **Rosa,**

**Hey, boo. You’ve got a gift with writing, because you always make me feel better. I feel super happy whenever I talk to you. And I’d really, really like to see you again sometimes soon.**

**I love you too.** **💯**

When Rosa receives the email from Gina, she nearly faints. She’s still at work, but she’s smiling ever so widely as she reads the last part of Gina’s email. _I love you too._ Gina _loves_ her too! They love each other?! Rosa hopes to dear god that Gina considers it more than just platonic love.

Charles stalks over behind Rosa. “Hey, who are you emailing?” he asks. He only sees the last part of the email— **I love you too.** **💯** **—** before Rosa turns off the computer. “Oh, Rosa, I see you’ve got a new lover! And communicating by email? That’s one of the most erotic—”

Rosa wrinkles her nose. “Please shut up,” she mumbles.

“I’m sorry,” Charles says. “I’m about to _burst._ You know I’m not good at keeping secrets, right?”

Rosa simply sighs. She stands up and stomps one foot down to catch everyone’s attention. “Briefing room, now,” she announces, before stalking off to the briefing room.

Within a few minutes, everyone is in the briefing room. Rosa stand at the front of the room, surveying the confused expressions on everyone’s face. She clears her throat and begins to speak. “Okay, I’ve only told Charles this, but I’m bisexual. You have one minute to make any inquiries about this.” And she begins rapidly answering (shooting down) questions.

Finally, Jake asks, “Are you single, or can I start setting you up with people?”

“I’m not open to dating right now,” Rosa says.

“Because she’s already got a boo!” Charles bubbles excitedly from the back of the room. Rosa rolls her eyes and sighs as everyone questions her with eager eyes.

“No, you cannot meet her. No, I will not tell you her name. No, we will not go on a double date with  you. No, we are not exclusive.” The last one hurts a little bit for Rosa to say, because all she wants is to be exclusive with Gina Linetti and just be in love with her for the rest of her life.

After the briefing room, Rosa pulls out her phone and sends a single heart emoji to Gina. Gina replies back almost immediately with a string of different heart emojis and then a few heart-eyes. Rosa feels her heart swell with _love._

It’s official. She’s in love with the one and only Gina Linetti.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you believe that rosa and gina are in LOVE??


	21. coming out is never easy. 💔

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa finds the courage to come out to her parents with the help of Jake. Meanwhile, Gina longs to be with Rosa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit is going DOWN in this chapter

                                                                                               

Near the end of the day, Rosa pulls Jake aside in the garage. "Hey, dude. I need some help," she mutters.

Jake's eyes widen in excitement. "Rosa Diaz needs help from _me?_ To what do I owe the pleasure?" he tosses his car keys into the air and catches them in the palm of his hand.

Rosa sighs. "I have to come out to my parents but I'm… afraid or whatever."

"You're scared of something?" Jake asks in astonishment. "You, Rosa Diaz, an apathetic badass who doesn't even flinch when someone puts a gun to her head― you're _scared_ of something?" Rosa punches him squarely in the stomach and Jake doubles over. "Never mind! You're terrifying," he wheezes.

"Thank you," Rosa says, and waits for Jake to recover. Once he straightens up, Rosa says, "so, d'you got anything for me? I really don't want things to become awkward between my parents and me."

"Um," Jake says, "be honest with them. Just speak from your heart. Here, I'll demonstrate." Jake puts a hand on his heart and takes a deep breath before speaking. "Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you. I'm bisexual. And this doesn't change who I am at all; I'm still your daughter who was raised to be a strong and confident woman. Who I love will never change that." Jake looks up to see Rosa wipe away watering eyes.

"Damn," she says in a hoarse voice, "that was incredible."

Jake doesn't stop there, though. "And I know that this may come as a shock to you, but this is my _truth!_  And I need you to look into my eyes and see who I truly am, and accept that!"

"Jake―" Rosa attempts to interrupt. She crosses her arms over her chest and bites her lip.

"I know you might still see me as your little girl, but I'm a _woman_ now!" he pauses for a second before softly saying, "and I know my own heart." Jake takes a deep breath, and Rosa takes that as an opportunity to speak.

"Are you done yet?" she says, tapping her foot slightly impatiently.

"I―" Jake looks up at Rosa. A smile bites at his lips. "Yeah. That felt really good to say. I should totally be an actor, right! And I'm sorry for like, straightsplaining how to come out to you―"

Rosa lifts an eyebrow. Whatever that was, it hadn't been _straight_ splaining. "Nah," she says. "Also, don't become an actor. But thanks for the advice. Hey, you wanna grab dinner with me? My treat."

"Sure," Jake says. "I never turn down the offer for free food."

Rosa elbows him in the arm. "Okay, cool," she says, and heads for her motorcycle.

* * *

 In Paris, France, Gina Linetti sits cross-legged on her duvet atop of her bed. She leans against the headboard of her bed before throwing her cell phone down onto the covers. Gritting her teeth at the most recent celebrity news about Coach-freaking- _ella_ , Gina grabs her laptop from her nightstand and pulls it into her lap.

As she had suspected/expected, there is a new email from Rosa. Gina takes a deep breath and opens it.

 

**Dear Gina,**

**So I'm gonna do it today. I'm gonna come out to my parents today. I've already called them to get dinner with me, and I'm gonna tell them over dinner. I'm not gonna lie; I'm kinda terrified. What if they don't accept me?**

**Anyways, thank you for all of the advice you've given me. It's all really really helped. I wish you were here by my side; this whole thing would be less scary if you were here. And if I'm being totally honest, I'm doing this because of you. You're truly inspiring, Gina Linetti.**

**Who knows? Maybe if they don't accept me, then I can just quit my job and run away to Paris. I'll find you and we can become world-famous dancers. I'd like to see you again. Like, I'm serious. I really really wanna see you again.**

**Love, Rosa 🌹**

 

Gina takes a deep breath. Rosa signed off with 'love' again. Gina doesn't know if she feels lightheaded from the champagne that she had a while ago or from the fact that she's definitely head over heels in love. She grabs the glass of water sitting on her nightstand and drains it. Gina positions her fingers over the keyboard and begins to type slowly.

 

**Hey, boo,**

**I'm really happy for you! This is an important step, and I'm proud of you. You're gonna be alright, okay? I wish I was by your side, too. I'd protect you from all of the idiots who don't accept you for who you are.**

**Who you are. Let me tell you who you are, Rosa Diaz. You are fearless. You are bold. You are smart. You are beautiful. You are a badass. You are the most strikingly ethereal person I have ever met. You are confident. You are determined. You ride a freaking motorcycle. You are super tough and scary on the outside, but on the inside, you have the softest heart of gold that I have ever seen. You are truly wonderful, Rosa, and don't you ever let anyone tell you that you're not.**

**And as much as I want you to run away to Paris and come and find me, don't quit your job. Talk to me before you do anything stupid.**

**Keep me posted, babe, and remember, I'm always here to talk if you need me.**

**Love, Gina 💯**

 

A small smile bites at the corner of her lips as Gina reads the email over. She's written it so effortlessly; everything she thinks is wonderful about Rosa just spills out of the tip of her fingers and into the screen in front of her.  

Gina has a different type of energy channeling inside of her― love. She's sure of it. Rosa Diaz is making Gina Linetti feels the stupid emotion of _love._

It doesn't suck, though.

* * *

 The sun has just started to set in Brooklyn when Rosa and Jake sit at a restaurant table. "Uh, hey," Rosa says quickly, "my parents are coming. I need you to help me come out to them."

Jake nearly jumps out of his skin. "Uh-what!?"

"They're here," Rosa says. "Act normal."

Jake picks up the glass of water in front of him. "Act normal," he repeats. "Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool," he mumbles and proceeds to drain the entire glass of water. Rosa frowns as her parents come near. "More water!" Jake says rather shrilly.

"Mom, Dad," Rosa says, hurrying up to meet her parents. "Hey."

"Rosalita, darling! It's been so long," her mother says. "How are you doing?" Mr. and Mrs. Diaz sit down at the table across from their daughter and―

"Jake, isn't it?" Oscar Diaz asks, squinting at him.

Jake gulps. "Yup," he says.

"To what do we owe the pleasure to?" Julia Diaz asks, smiling in a way that Jake finds a little disturbing. This woman is, after all, Rosa Diaz's mother.

"Uh, actually," Rosa says, taking a deep breath. She looks at Jake nervously. Jake gives her a reassuring smile and gives her hand a squeeze under the table. "There's something that I had to tell you guys."

"What?" Oscar leans forward.

"Oh, I knew it!" Julia chirps. "You and Jake are dating."

 _"What?"_ Oscar, Rosa, and Jake say in disbelief at the same time.

"Yes! That's why Jake is here. You two are dating, and you're afraid to tell us!" Julia says.

"Uh," Rosa turns to Jake in a moment of panic, "yeah! We're… dating."

 _"What?"_ Jake mouths to her furiously. "I have to use the bathroom." He leaves the table, and Rosa sits there in an awkward silence with her parents.

"Uh, I actually gotta use the bathroom too," Rosa mumbles, excusing herself from the table.

She finds Jake moments later in the mens' room, hunched over a toilet and throwing up. "Oh, god, Jake, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have called this dinner. Oh, I shouldn't come out to them. Sorry for getting you involved."

"S'okay," Jake says, looking up at her. "It's okay. I got your back."

"Thanks," Rosa says, rather relieved to hear these words. "I― I'm not gonna come out to them tonight, I guess. We should just go home."

"No," Jake says, standing up. "Let's stay. I'll pretend to be your boyfriend, even though we both know that it would never happen and it's gross."

"It would never happen and it's gross― title of your sex tape," Rosa says, cracking a smile.

"All right, let's go out and _kill_ this dinner!" Jake says. "I mean, not _literally,_ obviously, because then there would be a crime scene and then we'd have to work―"

"Let's just go," Rosa says, pulling Jake by the arm. They return to the table, where Oscar and Julia are having a hushed conversation. They look up once Jake and Rosa sit down.

"Hey, mija," Oscar says. "You know I don't fully approve of Jake, but I'm alright with this," he says.

"What?" Rosa asks in disbelief.

"You don't approve of me? Why?" Jake says.

"When you called this dinner so abruptly, we thought you were gonna tell us something like you're _gay_. But obviously, you're not, since you're dating _Jake_ ," Oscar says. Julia nods in agreement.

Rosa clenches her jaw before abruptly standing up.

"Rosa―" Jake starts to say.

Rosa ignores him. There's heat in her cheeks, and she's seeing a million shades of red. Rosa leans over and puts her palms down on the table. "Well, Mom, Dad, guess what. Jake and I _aren't dating_. And I'm not gay. I called this dinner to tell you that I'm _bisexual_. And I don't give a shit about what you think, okay!" The words spill out of Rosa before she knows it, and she stomps away in anger.

"Well," Jake says meekly, a moment after Rosa stomps off. "Are we gonna order or―"

Julia and Oscar get out of their seats and leave the restaurant.

* * *

 

Rosa's eyes are brimming with tears as she rides her motorcycle into the unknown depths of the night. She's breaking the speed limit by about 30 miles, but she doesn't exactly care at the moment. Finally, Rosa pulls into a gas station. She takes out her phone and sees about thirty texts from Jake― and then a few from Charles, Amy, Terry, and even _Holt_ ― but she ignores them all.

Rosa opens her email to find an email from Gina. She smiles through her tears as she reads it. **You are fearless. You are bold. You are smart. You are beautiful. You are a badass. You are the most strikingly ethereal person I have ever met. You are confident. You are determined. You ride a freaking motorcycle. You are super tough and scary on the outside, but on the inside, you have the softest heart of gold that I have ever seen. You are truly wonderful, Rosa, and don't you ever let anyone tell you that you're not.** The words echo around in Rosa's mind, and Rosa finds that she just wants to run into Gina's arms and hug her. Hold her close.

Rosa doesn't bother replying to the email when she opens an airlines website. She purchases the next available ticket for Paris with no regrets.

* * *

 

In Paris, Gina's tossing and turning in bed. It's almost morning, and she's gotten about _no_ sleep. She can't stop thinking about Rosa. Gina finally sits up in bed. She pulls her laptop into her lap and opens up an airlines website. She finds a ticket for the next flight to New York and takes a deep breath. Gina's cursor dangerously hovers over the purchase button for a minute before Gina finally presses it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry about what i've just done!!! i know what you're thinking, and i _also _hate me as much as you do!!__


	22. you've started a fire in me (and i don't wanna put it out) AKA i'm so sorry that this is happening yikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning right where it was last left off, Gina has bought a ticket to New York right as Rosa bought a ticket to Paris. And neither of them know what the other is doing. They're idiots in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys i don't know how to describe airports, at least, i can't describe the airports in ny and paris, because i've only been to like five airports in my life and none of them were in paris or ny, so i don't know??? also if i broke your heart with this i am very very sorry because i also broke my own heart writing this.
> 
> IMPORTANT: i listened to watch by billie eilish on a loop while writing this (because that's the song currently giving me feels) and this whole chapter is meant to carry that vibe!! so idk listen to the song 
> 
> also i am heavily caffeinated right now lmao and this chapter just flowed right out of me like i got my sticky notes with my notes and my pen and my coke and fingers are flying across the keyboard ain't that fun

                                                                                           

After the ticket purchase is confirmed, Gina almost immediately jumps up. Her flight is at five o'clock AM, and she's got barely over an hour to make it. Gina pulls a small suitcase out of her closet and lays it out on the floor. Without even looking, she pulls clothes from their hangers and throws them into the suitcase. She grabs her toothbrush, and other hygiene products, sprinkling them over the clothes in her suitcase and shutting the suitcase.

She doesn't think she has time to change. Whatever. She's Gina Linetti, and she looks fabulous in everything, even the sweatpants paired with Jake's flannel that she's wearing. Gina pulls up the suitcase and starts tugging it to the door. With a start, Gina turns back to her closet and grabs Rosa's leather jacket. She pulls it around herself and snuggles into the comfort of knowing that it's _Rosa's._ It's Rosa's leather jacket and Gina's in love with her. The thought nearly causes a few tears to spill from Gina's eyes.

Gina hails a taxi at record-breaking time and within a short period of time, she is at the gate at Orly Airport. And then she's on a plane, leaving Paris behind for the love of her life. How ironic.

* * *

 Rosa's night is going terribly. First, the whole coming out _disaster,_ and then the tears and the feelings that had spilled out at the gas station afterward. Rosa's bought a damn ticket to Paris to see Gina Linetti. Gina Linetti is the only one who makes Rosa feel whole; feel _alive._ Feel like _herself._ She's in love with Gina, and she doesn't know what to do about it.

So she goes home to her apartment and throws on some pajamas. But soon, she realizes that she doesn't want to spend the night in her apartment, so Rosa stuffs a few necessities into a backpack. She looks around her apartment one last time before stepping out and locking it. Rosa heads out into the streets of Brooklyn until a taxi pulls up next to her. She numbly gets in and finds herself at a motel.

That's where Rosa stays the night. Tossing and turning on a single twin bed in a shady motel room, until she can't take it anymore. She grabs her bag and leaves the motel room, hailing a taxi and riding straight to LaGuardia Airport. Her flight isn't for another few hours, but she sits at a bench at one of the terminals and gazes straight ahead. It's not as lively as it would be in the daytime, but an aura of adrenaline and exhaustion hangs around the entire place.

"You look like a _mess."_ Rosa's thoughts are interrupted when a stranger takes a seat on the bench next to her. Rosa looks up in mild surprise to see a young man sitting next to her. He has tight black curls, and a dimple in one cheek as he smiles slightly.

Rosa coughs. And then she thinks, _fuck it,_ because nothing matters anyway. So she talks to the stranger. "I _am_ a mess," she says hoarsely.

"Here," the stranger says, pushing a bottle of chilled coffee at her. "Have this. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I haven't," Rosa says, graciously accepting the coffee. She opens the bottle and takes a sip. "Thank you."

"You wanna talk about it?" the stranger offers.

"I―" Rosa grimaces. "I'm flying to Paris. To see the love of my life. But I don't know if she feels the same way. And no one knows where I am― except for you, I guess." She gives a harsh laugh. "But I guess that doesn't matter because you have no idea who I am."

The stranger smiles. "Why so glum if you're going to see the love of your life? If you feel this strongly about her, than she's sure to feel the same."

"My parents. They… they can't live with the fact that the love of my life is a woman." Rosa sniffles, before a broken sob escapes from her. She puts the bottle of coffee down on the bench and covers her face with both hands, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"That's tough," the stranger says. "When I came out to my parents, they didn't take it well either. But if they really love you, then they'll accept you. They'll come around. You just gotta get your woman and show your parents how happy you are with her."

Rosa looks up and wipes a tear away. "Thank you," she manages. The stranger smiles kindly and pulls his arm around her shoulders for a hug. A moment later, he pulls away and glances at his watch.

"I hope everything works out. I have to run; I'm going to go see my boyfriend and my flight is in half and hour." He gets off of the bench and waves goodbye to Rosa. Rosa watches him go, holding the coffee close to her chest as he leaves.

* * *

 Gina doesn't sleep on the flight at all. She's too pumped up on adrenaline. She bounces her knees anxiously on the plane and fiddles with her phone. She opens her text messages with Rosa and scrolls up for who knows how long, finally landing on the first message she had ever sent Rosa. Gina starts reading through the messages, and tears start burning her eyes.

 

**> roughly one and a half months ago<**

**Gina: hey u wanna get a drink later tonight??**

**Rosa: maybe later? i'm busy tonight.**

**Gina: ok!!**

**> three hours later<**

**Rosa: please help i did something stupid**

**Rosa: come to the bar on seventh ave by the bakery??**

**Gina: be right there boo**

 

**> two days later<**

**Gina: what time are you coming in today??**

**Rosa: eight**

**Gina: meet u there!!**

 

**> one day later<**

**Rosa: bring extra dance shoes tomorrow??**

**Gina: u got it!! <3**

 

**> three days later<**

**Gina: hey u wanna grab some lunch later?? if yeah, meet me outside of the dance building at 1**

 

**> one day later<**

**Gina: meet me in the diamond room pls!!!**

**Rosa: one more run through with the routine??**

**Rosa: today's a big day, after all**

**> six hours later<**

**Gina: hey meet me in the dressing room?!**

**Gina: i have a killer ballet outfit**

**Rosa: i'm sure u do**

**Rosa: i'll be right there**

**> one hour later<**

**Gina: THERE IS A PROBLEM**

**Gina: ROSA THERE'S A PROBLEM**

**Gina: WE NEED A DANCER TO FILL IN FOR MILTON**

**Gina: u know the dance part though??**

**> three hours later<**

**Rosa: hate to admit it but the ballet was fun**

**Gina: i agree**

 

**> six hours later<**

**Gina: i'm outside of your hotel**

**Gina: got u a ride to the airport!!**

**> two hours later<**

**Gina: text me when u land!!**

**Rosa: i will**

**> seven hours later<**

**Rosa: i'm in ny**

**Gina: you're so far away**

**Gina: i'm writing u letters**

 

**> three days later<**

**Rosa: i told ny hello from you today**

**Rosa: you dork**

**Gina: ur the dork <3** 

**> seven hours later<**

**Gina: i look great in your leather jacket**

**Gina: and the sunglasses rlly pulls the whole look together**

**Rosa: you look great**

 

**> four days later<**

**Gina: hey pen pal!!**

**Gina: reply to my email**

**Gina: or perish**

**Rosa: lol**

 

**> eleven days later<**

**Gina: call me!!!**

**Rosa: you call ME**

**Gina: okay i will then <3**

 

**> one day later< **

**Gina: girl you gonna come out??**

**Gina: i'm so proud of uuuuuu**

**Rosa: maybe**

 

**> two weeks later<**

**Rosa: the notre dame is burning down??**

**Gina yeah :(((**

**Gina: i can't believe it**

**Rosa: it's gonna be okay**

**Rosa: people are gonna throw money at it from all over the world**

**Gina: yeah ur right**

 

**> three days later<**

**Rosa: good morning, superstar**

**Gina: <3**

**Gina: i hope you're having a wonderful day!!!!**

**Rosa: i hope you are too!!**

**Gina: <3**

 

**> two days later<**

**Gina: rosie pls don't do anything stupid**

**Gina: ur parents are wrong. ur srsly wonderful and amazing and so many people love you. i love you.**

**Rosa </3**

 

It's the last text Rosa's sent her. Gina doesn't know how to reply. She wants to get to Rosa's side as fast as she can; to hug her tight and hold her and tell her that she's _loved._

It hurts Gina to know that Rosa's in pain. But her flight's about to touch down at LaGuardia, and Gina intends to get off of that plane and find Rosa Diaz, even if she has to search through millions of people to find the one she loves.

* * *

 Rosa's all checked in, and she's walking through LaGuardia. Her flight is in about half an hour, but she feels numb. All she wants is to be transported to Paris; to Gina's side.

Rosa looks down at her cell phone and presses the power button. It stays dark before flashing a picture of an empty battery. Rosa coughs loudly and curses under her breath, stuffing the dead cell phone in her pocket.

As Rosa walks through the crowds of people, she catches sight of a flash of auburn hair in the corner of her eye. Her heart skips a beat because it's the exact same shade of Gina Linetti's hair. Rosa whips around, but no one with auburn hair is to be seen. It was a stupid thought anyways. What would Gina be doing in _New York?_ With a sigh, Rosa continues walking towards her boarding gate.

* * *

 Gina's walking through the airport, looking down at her phone when she hears a loud cough. Gina looks up and catches sight of a head of messy black locks pulled into a ponytail. It reminds her of Rosa, for some reason, but she shoves the thought aside. Rosa would never be caught dead in public wearing pink pajama pants with a black tank top.

She clears the thought from her mind and continues to search for Rosa's location on her phone. Gina dials Rosa's phone number, but it goes straight to voicemail. So she dials it again. And again, but with no dice.

She doesn't have Rosa's address, and she's not sure she'll find it, but she has Rosa's work address. The Ninety-Ninth precinct. Gina doesn't know if Rosa will even be at work, but maybe her coworkers will know something.

It's been a while since Gina's been back in New York. She couldn't care less about the city, though. Her top priority is Rosa Diaz and it's all she cares about. Heck, she's not even telling her best friend Jake that she's here. Rosa's the one she's here for.

* * *

 But Rosa boards the plane without any feeling. She still feels numb, and she _hates_ it. Either it's sadness and spite bubbling out of her, or it's nothing. And Rosa's _done_ with the sadness and spite. She wants a change; to feel something _else._

So she pulls her laptop out of her bag and sets it in her lap on the plane. She can't text Gina, so she'll just write her an email. Rosa's gonna put everything out into the open. Everything she feels about Gina.

It's time to come clean about her emotions.

 

**To Gina Linetti,**

**Hey. It's me. Rosa Diaz. I have a lot to say about you. I'm currently on a plane to come and see you. And in eight hours, I'm gonna be at the front of your apartment, unless you run away because you don't wanna see me.**

**But I guess I'm gonna tell you the truth. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And this isn't easy for me. But here it is: I love you. And I've told you that multiple times, but I'm gonna write it again, and this time with authenticity. I really love you.**

**And it's not easy for me to say. It's hard. Because I'm not just admitting it to you. I'm admitting it to myself. It's something I've known for a very long time, but it's just scary to put out there. I guess I've been in love with you the moment I saw you dancing in Paris. You're amazing, and I feel** **_real_ ** **when I'm with you.**

**And the thing that I look forward to the most every day is getting an email or a text from you. You've kind of become my everything. I don't know if you feel the same way, but you've started a fire in me. And I really really think that we're meant to be.**

**And I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way. I feel like something's finally been unlocked inside of me, because I've never been in love before. Not like this. I feel like I could call your arms home. I feel like I wanna be by your side every single morning. I wanna kiss you on the forehead and tell you you're a superstar. You've done things to me, Gina. I've never, ever, felt like how I feel before.**

**And that's how I know it's right.**

**Love,**

**Rosa Diaz**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting there, folks!! haha y'all thought this fic was gonna be fun and games and like rom-com happy and then i went and pulled the feelings trigger lmao 
> 
> I REALLY NEED TO STOP SOMEONE STOP ME y'all this should totally be made into a movie it would be so dramatic
> 
> also i really flung myself into death while writing the whole text messages chain lmao and i've been listening to watch by billie eilish on a freaking loop for two hours now! i gotta sleep lmao


	23. rosa and gina are gonna be okay!! (as long as they don't do something STUPID these dum-dums smh)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina finds the Ninety-Ninth precinct. Meanwhile, Rosa lands in Paris, and the two try to figure out what the heck is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have nothing to say for myself except YIKES

                                                                                                         

When Gina arrives at the Ninety-Ninth precinct in Brooklyn, New York, she has to squint at the building through her eyelashes in order to determine that she’s at the right place. The sun has risen up high, and it’s _blinding._ Gina doesn’t want it. She’s tired as hell, and she just wants to find Rosa, kiss her, and then fall asleep in her arms.

Jet lag truly is the worst.

Before she heads for the door, Gina pulls out her phone and opens her camera. If she’s gonna see Rosa for the first time in over a month, then she’s gonna make sure that she stuns Rosa with her amazing looks. There are a few notifications on Gina’s phone, but she ignores them, opting to touch up her lipstick and try smiling.

If Rosa isn’t already in love with Gina, then she’s gonna fall in love as soon as she sees Gina’s face.

Gina finally makes her way into the precinct, barely pausing to look around before shoving her way through a few beat cops and towards the elevator. “Hold it!” she calls, and a tall, stoic-looking man just out his arm to hold the elevator. Gina skids into it, breathless. “Thanks,” she says, looking up at the man.

He’s wearing a crisp white suit with a pinned black tie. Gina glances at his badge to see the name ‘Holt’. His eyes flicker over Gina’s suitcase for a moment, but he thankfully doesn’t say anything before turning away and  glancing at his watch.

As the elevator rises, Gina nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She taps her foot impatiently, itching to get out of the elevator and the uncomfortable silence that it brings with it.

Finally, the elevator pings open. Holt steps out first and walks away without giving Gina a second glance. Gina takes a deep breath before setting foot towards the closest desk, not paying attention to anything else in the bullpen. She reads the nameplate on the side of the desk— **DET. ROSA DIAZ**. The chair is empty. There’s no sign of a leather jacket hanging near it; no sign of Rosa. Gina curses under her breath before she hears a painstakingly familiar voice.

“Gina?” Gina whips around to see Jake Peralta peering at her curiously. “Am I hallucinating, or is that really you? What are you doing here?”

And suddenly, all of the pieces fly together in Gina’s mind. _Jake._ Rosa knows Jake, too; they work together. Jake is a common link in their lives? And yet— Rosa and Gina had still met and became really good friends without even _realizing_ that they both knew Jake.

Everything that could’ve been a clue into knowing this flies back to Gina’s mind. The time when she and Rosa were in Paris and Rosa had made that title of your sex tape joke. When Rosa had talked about her friends going to Paris and Jake and Amy had gone right at that time. When Jake had tried to set her up with a badass super smart scary girl— Jake had tried to set her up with _Rosa._ Maybe if Gina had opened the piece of paper with the number that Jake had given her, she would’ve figured it out.

But Gina doesn’t say anything about her revelation.

“Jake!” Gina chirps, forcing a wide smile onto her face. She mentally curses herself about a million times before clearing her throat. “You, um, you work here? I mean, of course you work here!” She laughs, and immediately cringes upon hearing how terribly fake her laugh sounds.

Jake looks Gina up and down once, slightly frowning. “Is that my flannel?”

“Yup!” Gina coughs, suddenly feeling very self-aware of her outfit. She’s wearing Jake’s flannel under Rosa’s leather jacket, paired with sweatpants. She presses her bare toes into the cheap purple flip-flops that she’s wearing and bites her lip.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming to visit! And all the way from Paris!” Jake exclaims, suddenly brightly. “Did you come straight from the airport?” he asks, grabbing Gina’s suitcase from her.

“Yeah,” Gina says weakly, throwing up her hands. “Surprise, Jake!”

“Awesome!” he gently tugs her deeper in the the bullpen and clears his throat. “Guys, this is Gina! She’s my best friend!”

A short man wearing a beige dress shirt and striped tie hurries up to them. “What? Jake—”

Jake shoots him a look. “Gina’s my childhood best friend. Gina, this is Charles.”

Charles thrusts out his hand. “I’m Detective Charles Boyle, Jake’s other best friend. My hands are pretty soft to shake right now, because I just moisturized.”

Gina glances at his hand, slightly repulsed. “Did you just say _Boyle_?” she mutters under her breath, staring at him.

“Yeah!” Charles says with enthusiasm. “There are a lot of Boyles— I have a lot of cousins. Maybe you’ve heard of us?”

“Uh,” Gina says, trying to wrap her head around this, “do you have a cousin named Milton?”

“Oh, Cousin Milton! Yeah, he’s my cousin! He’s in Paris right now! Though he’s kind of the odd one out— do you wanna hear about the time that he learned how to swim when he was _four_ years old? _Four,_ imagine that! None of the other Boyles could even go near the water till we were like eleven!” Charles says, starting to tell them what seems like the beginning of a long and intricate story.

Gina glances at Jake for help. Luckily, Amy swings by right at that moment. “Gina? What are you doing here? Are you wearing your pajamas?”

Gina shrugs. “Hey, Amy. What are you wearing? Nurse scrubs?”

Amy glances down at her purple pantsuit. “No?” she says with uncertainty.

“Anyways,” Jake starts, glancing at the smile that Gina gives Amy, “Charles and I were just gonna go check on a friend. You’re gonna have to wait till we come back, G.” The two detectives turn to leave, and Gina processes what Jake had said too late.

“Wait,” Gina feebly calls at the elevator, realizing that the friend that they were just talking about is probably Rosa. The elevator pings shut and Gina’s shoulders sag with exhaustion. She looks around the bullpen, and her body starts gravitating towards Rosa’s desk. “Guess I’ll just sit here. Since no one else is sitting here,” she mumbles. She looks up to see Amy heading off towards the kitchen, so she sits down in Rosa’s chair and looks around the desk.

It’s very Rosa-like. Gina pulls open a drawer to reveal a few knives. A scrap of leather sits at the bottom of another drawer, and Gina pulls out a bottle of what seems to be polish for Rosa’s motorcycle helmet.

Gina pulls out her phone and opens her email. There’s one from Rosa— the time stamp reads to a few hours ago. Gina’s heart beats like thunder in her chest as her finger hovers over the email. She taps it lightly and squeezes her eyes shut before opening them again.

 

       **To Gina Linetti,**

**Hey. It's me. Rosa Diaz. I have a lot to say about you. I'm currently on a plane to come and see you. And in eight hours, I'm gonna be at the front of your apartment, unless you run away because you don't wanna see me.**

**But I guess I'm gonna tell you the truth. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And this isn't easy for me. But here it is: I love you. And I've told you that multiple times, but I'm gonna write it again, and this time with authenticity. I really love you.**

**And it's not easy for me to say. It's hard. Because I'm not just admitting it to you. I'm admitting it to myself. It's something I've known for a very long time, but it's just scary to put out there. I guess I've been in love with you the moment I saw you dancing in Paris. You're amazing, and I feel real when I'm with you.**

**And the thing that I look forward to the most every day is getting an email or a text from you. You've kind of become my everything. I don't know if you feel the same way, but you've started a fire in me. And I really really think that we're meant to be.**

**And I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way. I feel like something's finally been unlocked inside of me, because I've never been in love before. Not like this. I feel like I could call your arms home. I feel like I wanna be by your side every single morning. I wanna kiss you on the forehead and tell you you're a superstar. You've done things to me, Gina. I've never, ever, felt like how I feel before.**

**And that's how I know it's right.**

**Love,**

**Rosa Diaz**

 

Gina reads the email over once, twice, three times before her chest heaves and a sob bursts from her. She puts her head down on Rosa’s desk and lets a few more tears leak out of her eyes before she wipes them away. Gina reads the email over again.

Rosa loves her?

Rosa loves her, and Gina’s just longing to be in Rosa’s arms.

* * *

 It’s evening when Rosa touches down in Paris. All she wants to do is find Gina, kiss her, and fall asleep (preferably next to Gina).

Rosa hails a taxi, glares at the driver a little bit, and gives them Gina’s address. She nearly falls asleep during the cab ride, jolting awake at the red lights and the turns.

Finally, she’s standing in front of Gina’s apartment, impatiently knocking on the door. Rosa shifts her backpack to her other shoulder and taps her foot impatiently, knocking on the door again. There is no answer, but the door across the hall creaks open and Rosa spins around to come face-to-face with a middle aged man.

“I am Burt,” the man says in a thick accent. “Are you looking for the dancer?”

“Yes,” Rosa says, suddenly hopeful. “Do you know where she is?”

“No,” Burt frowns. “But you could come inside and have a cup of tea?”

Rosa glowers at him, and it’s all that it takes for Burt to cower back into his apartment. Rosa continues banging on Gina’s door, growling with frustration. Soon, it becomes clear that no one is home. Rosa drops her bag on the floor and softly screams with anger.

And then she does the only thing that makes sense to her— Rosa kicks down Gina’s door. She storms into the apartment to see Gina’s living room relatively clean. She looks into the kitchen to see a few dishes stacked in the sink— that could be a sign that Gina would be coming home shortly. Rosa makes her way down the hall and pushes open the door of Gina’s bedroom.

It’s completely ransacked. Clothes litter every inch of the floor. Shards of a broken glass lay in a puddle of water. The covers are balled up and halfway on the floor. Rosa stares at the mess, unsure of what to do. And then her breathing comes in short gasps and she falls onto Gina’s bed, crying and trying to breathe and think of what to do.

What if something bad has happened to Gina? What if Gina is hurt?

Rosa spots a phone charger out of the corner of her eye and crawls towards it. She pulls her dead phone out of her pocket and tries plugging her phone in through her blinding tears. After a few attempts, Rosa’s phone is finally charging. She collapses on the mattress, waiting for it to turn on.

A few minutes later, she sees a notification for an email— the timestamp reads a few minutes ago. And it’s from Gina. Gina’s finally replied to Rosa’s confession of feelings letter. With shaky hands, Rosa opens it, fearing the worst.

 

**Dear Rosa,**

**You’re flying to Paris? Darling, I’m in New York! I came here to see you! I told you not to do anything stupid! And I promise, I’m never, ever going to run from you. You are the most perfect being in the entire universe. And here’s the thing: I love you too. I love you so much. I started falling in love with you ever since you danced with me in Paris, and I have the kind of feelings for you that are impossible to shake off.**

**I’m in love with you. I love you, Rosa Diaz.  Why are we across the world from each other?**

**💯**

 

Rosa’s not sure if the tears that are spilling from her eyes are of happiness of of anxiety and fear. Nevertheless, opens her voicemail to two messages from Gina.

“Hey, Rosa,” Gina’s voice echoes hollowly through the room, “I need you to know that you’re loved. No matter what. Please call me.”

Rosa hugs herself and slowly rocks back and forth on Gina’s bed.

“Rosa? I need you to pick up. I’m coming to see you. Please call me back? I’m really worried about you,” the second voicemail says.

Suddenly, Rosa’s all out of emotions and tears. She dials Gina’s number, waiting in anticipation for her to pick up on the other end.

And she does. Relief courses through Rosa’s whole entire body when she hears Gina speak softly on the other end. “Rosa?” Gina says. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

And Rosa’s nodding, even though she knows that Gina can’t see her. “I’m at your place. Don’t go anywhere. I’m flying back to New York right this _minute._ Don’t go anywhere.”

“Rosa,” Gina interrupts. “I love you.” Her voice is oddly calm, but it makes Rosa’s heart soar.

“I love you too. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay? I love you. I love you. I love you.” And with that, Rosa yanks her phone out of the charger, grabs her back, and heads out of Gina’s apartment to get to the airport as quickly as she can.

* * *

 After her short conversation with Rosa ends (in which Rosa had said "I love you"  _four_ times— not that Gina had counted), Gina puts her head down on Rosa’s desk before she feels someone’s hand on her shoulder.

“Gina,” Amy’s voice says, “we need to talk.”

Gina groans before looking up. She wipes her face hastily. “Right now?”

“Yeah,” Amy says, rather sternly. “Come on.” She tugs Gina up by the arm and pulls her away to one of the storage closets.

Gina sighs heavily before walking over to a blue couch and sitting down. “What is this about?”

“You know Rosa,” Amy says bluntly. “Detective Rosa Diaz. You know who she is. And she means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

Gina stares at Amy with wide eyes. “What— how—” she stammers. She doesn’t even have the energy to fight Amy, so she just slouches down on the couch and tries to glare at Amy.

“I’m a sergeant,” Amy replies. “And you didn’t come here to see Jake, you came to see Rosa. You bought an impromptu ticket to New York, and you’re here in your pajamas and _Rosa’s_ leather jacket. You sat at _Rosa’s_ desk even though Charles and Jake’s desks were both open. And you were crying at Rosa’s desk. What’s really going on?” Amy questions.

Gina bites her lip to stop a tear from spilling out of the corner of her eye. “Why does it matter to you?”

“Rosa’s my best friend. And no one knows where she is. We don’t know if she’s safe. So if you know anything—”

“Rosa’s safe,” Gina interrupts. “She’s safe. She’s in Paris.”

Amy frowns. “So Rosa flew to Paris to see you?”

A hiccup escapes from Gina’s chest and the tears start dripping again. “Yeah. Rosa’s so far away. She’s in Paris. I— I just wanna see her,” she admits weakly.

Amy pulls a comforting arm around Gina. “Gina—”

“Amy, I’m in love with Rosa. And she’s in love with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a masters degree or a phd or even a bachelors degree in writing love letters.


	24. mister jake peralta hasn't been in this story quite enough so it's time for him to get some more screen time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake Peralta has no idea about the whole Rosa and Gina thing. He calls himself a detective, but he has NO idea about all that's been going on right underneath his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH WE'RE MAKING IT CAN U BELIEVE  
> also this chapter was in no way proofread!!! the beginning of it WAS read by @sgtamysantiago (or @what-about-gay on tumblr) and @ydididodis (@cheddar-the-dog on tumblr) so thank u so much for that, but the rest was pure me chaotically writing while listening to melodrama by lorde on repeat for the millionth time!! listen to perfect places by lorde!!! or perish!  
> also i'm really glad to be updating because summer is here and i have nothing else to do and laziness really saps my willpower to write!!! so yeah!! be proud of me!

                                                                                            

Jake Peralta is bisexual, and this is something that he has known for only a few days. It’s been an epiphany that hasn’t quite settled right in his stomach, since the day in the garage where he had pep-talked Rosa about coming out to her parents.

He’s been thinking about it for the past day, and it’s the only thing that seems to keep him distracted from Rosa herself, who has now been missing for almost twenty-four hours. She hasn’t contacted anyone, and Jake is so scared for her because they’re pretty close friends.

It _is_ a very in-character thing for Rosa to do; to fuck off into oblivion for no reason at all and turn up a few days later with a brand new leather jacket or something, but this feels different, because Jake _knows_ that it’s different. The last time he had seen Rosa, she had stormed out of that restaurant after going off at her parents. And it’s a different kind of fucking-off-into-oblivion because Rosa Diaz had been in a place of vulnerability; something new and difficult for her to understand because Rosa Diaz simply never went through vulnerability.

Jake just hopes to dear lord that Rosa is okay, wherever she is. He sends her text messages every hour, but she doesn’t read them. He tries calling her a few times, but his calls go straight to voicemail until there is nothing left for Jake to do except _wait._ Damn it, he doesn’t even know where she lives.

He thinks about his new discovery about himself, being _bisexual_ , and ultimately decides that the first person that he wants to tell is Rosa, because Rosa gets the deal, right? She won’t laugh in his face because he’s only _just_ figured it out, a grown man in his mid-thirties. Rosa could give him advice and help him come out to everyone else. And Jake can’t _wait_ for Rosa to come back home because he needs her badass crazy wisdom right now.

And then Gina unexpectedly shows up out of nowhere. Maybe it’s a blessing, and the world is really on Jake’s side, because Gina has been his best friend since they were babies, and they’ve been through so much together. Gina identifies as queer— her Instagram bio literally reads “loving Rihanna and other women on the daily”, and Jake’s been there through her high school puppy-love crushes and also her _not_ so high school puppy-love crushes. He’s been there through her heartbreak and her happy points and nearly everything else in between. So maybe he could just tell Gina and everything would be okay.

He can notice, throughout the entire day, that Gina is anxious about something. She sits at Rosa’s desk, tapping her foot on the floor, which creates a rather distracting thwacking sound due to her purple beach flip-flops. Jake decides to not pay attention to this, because a) he has _also_ been anxious all day about several things, and b) Gina’s here, so that’s all that matters, right? He’s just happy that Gina had decided to show up from out of nowhere.

So when the work day ends and Amy suggests taking Gina to Shaw’s later that night, Jake just has to laugh. “You think Gina’s never been to Shaw’s before? Ames, we were—”

“We’ve been going there ever since we turned of legal drinking age,” Gina interrupts smoothly, now standing before them in an NYPD t-shirt and jeans. She still hasn’t lost the flip-flops or the leather jacket, which oddly reminds Jake of Rosa. He pulls his phone out of his jacket and texts her again before looking up at Amy and Gina.

“Yeah,” Jake says. He takes a deep breath, glancing anxiously around the bullpen.

“Jake,” Amy says, putting a hand on her husband’s arm, “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Charles? You coming to Shaw’s tonight?” Jake calls, barely taking note of the concerned expressions on both Amy and Gina’s faces. Charles flashes a thumbs up at Jake, but it’s obscured when one of the really cute beat cops walks in front—

Fuck. Jake whips his gaze away from the cute guy and grits his teeth. He’s _attracted to men_ , and it’s only just hitting him. Whenever he’s glanced admiringly at a dude and wanted to _be_ him or be his best friend— that was _actually_ attraction? Fuck, Jake really needs to talk to Rosa about bisexuality.

“So you wanna go now?” Gina gestures towards the elevator, tugging along her suitcase. “Let’s go straight to Shaw’s, because I really need a drink.”

“I hear you,” Jake agrees weakly, following Gina into the elevator. They hold it for Charles, who breathlessly thanks them while clutching a folder to his chest.

“Holt says that he’ll drop by later,” Charles says, grinning at Gina, who avoids eye contact with him and looks down at her phone. “And Terry says that as soon as Sharon gets home to watch the kids, then he’ll join us at Shaw’s! Oh god, I wish Rosa could be here. I really miss her. It doesn’t seem right, you know, to be going to Shaw’s without her—”

“I agree,” Amy jumps in quickly, glancing at Gina. Gina doesn’t look up from her phone. “It’s just really weird right now, you know? Like on one hand, Rosa’s not here, but on the other hand, Gina _is_ here and we gotta celebrate? Everything is pretty crazy right now.”

“M’kay, you’re overcompensating now,” Gina mumbles under her breath at Amy.

The elevator finally opens and they spill out. Jake, Amy, and Gina head towards Amy’s car, and Charles heads the other way to his own parking space.

“Okay, I’m gonna have to leave my suitcase in your car—” Gina opens the trunk of the car and Jake lifts her suitcase up and places it into the car. He pulls a ring of keys out of his pocket and tosses them to Amy, who effortlessly catches them in one hand.

“You drive,” Jake says, because he _really_ doesn’t think that he’s in a proper state to drive.

As Amy pulls out of the precinct, Jake opens his phone up again to text Rosa. And then he sees it— the blue check mark, confirming that Rosa’s seen his texts. She hasn’t written anything, though.

 

**Jake: hey u can’t just leave me on read!**

**Jake: r u okay???**

**Jake: rosa pls answer me i need 2 know if ur ok**

 

A bubble fills in with three dots and Jake nearly drops his phone in ecstasy. Rosa is typing. Rosa is alive.

The bubble disappears and Jake frowns at his phone. He waits for a few moments before texting her again.

 

**Jake: rosa? pls stop ghosting! we’re all rlly worried abt u!**

**Jake: just call or smthn? text? anything to let us know ur ok?**

 

Rosa doesn’t come back. Jake lets out a defeated sigh and slides his phone back into his pocket. Amy pauses at a stoplight, and Jake anxiously taps his fingers on the side of the window before speaking.

“So,” he says, trying to maintain casualness, “Rosa’s alive.”

“Oh!” Amy says, but her voice lacks surprise. “Really? Did she text you back?”

“Uh, no? She almost did, but then she left?” Jake says, glancing into the rear view mirror to get a look at Gina. She’s busy applying a bold shade of lipstick to her lips while looking into her phone camera. “But I mean, she’s alive, so that’s that, I guess. I just really wanna hug Rosa right now.”

“We all do,” Amy says, also glancing towards Gina, who is very clearly not paying any attention.

“So,” Gina interrupts, dropping her phone into her lap, “when the fuck are we getting there? I might have a friend meet me there—”

Jake catches a glimpse of Amy shooting Gina a very interesting look through the rear view mirror, but he picks up his phone and tries to text Rosa again.

“Oh, just a few minutes now,” Amy answers, hitting the brakes _way_ too hard at a red light.

“Fuck, Amy, I wasn’t wearing my seat belt. Don’t brake that hard next time, m’kay?” Gina says, bending down to grab her phone from off the floor.

Amy turns around in her seat. “Why aren’t you wearing your seat belt!?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Gina shrugs. “And there’s not point in putting it on now, since we’re almost here.”

“There’s no arguing with that!” Jake grins, high-fiving Gina from the passenger’s seat. Amy simply sighs in defeat and turns the car into parking.

When they walk into the bar, it’s barely crowded. Gina makes herself right at home as she swipes a shot of whiskey from the bar and downs it. “Ah,” she grins at Jake, “that’s more like it.”

“Hey, Gina, you remember those drinking games we used to play—”

“Uh uh uh uh!” Gina interrupts, holding up one hand. “I’m not looking to get super drunk! Just sorta tipsy! I’m waiting for a friend, you know.”

“Who’s the friend?” Jake wonders, as the bartender passes him a margarita.

“Oh, just someone,” Gina says, waving a hand dismissively. She looks down at her phone and smiles briefly before putting it face down onto the bar. “Besides, let’s you and me catch up!”

They talk for a while, about everything from figure skating to Captain Holt’s pottery classes, and Jake can just feel his anxiety rising and rising. He’s trying to get ready to tell Gina that he’s bisexual— to come out for the _first time—_ but the words bubble to his mouth and immediately fizzle down because he just doesn’t know how to say it.

 _I’m bisexual,_ Jake thinks. _Just fucking tell her. Two words. Two words. Only two words you have to say._ He looks up at Gina, who is animatedly talking about break-dancing in Scotland. “I’m—” Jake starts, but promptly chokes on his drink. He gulps the rest of it down and takes a deep breath.

 _Say it. Say it now_ . He doesn’t say it. _Say it in three seconds or you’ll die!_ his brain commands. _Three!_ Jake takes a sip of his drink. _Two!_ Jake makes nervous eye contact with Gina. _One!_ Jake looks back down at the table and coughs. He doesn’t die. Suck it, brain.

_Say it, you moron! Tell her that you’re bisexual! How hard could it be!_

Jake looks up, ready to open his mouth, but Gina isn’t paying attention. She’s staring near the entrance of the bar. Jake traces her gaze to—

“Rosa?” he says out loud, glancing at the woman who is standing there. Jake looks back at Gina, who has an awestruck expression on her face. He looks back at Rosa, who’s got her hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She’s dressed in pink pajama pants and a black tank top, and she looks tired as _hell_.

Jake leaps up and starts making his way over to Rosa, but Rosa pushes straight past him until she’s standing _extremely_ close to Gina—

Rosa sweeps Gina up into a full-on kiss. Gina cups Rosa’s face in her hands and Rosa pulls her arms around Gina’s body, and Jake isn’t sure if he should look away.

 _Rosa and Gina_ ? Rosa and Gina, his two best friends? Kissing? Right now, in Shaw’s bar? For how long have they known each other, and _how is Jake only just finding out about this?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI I KNOW RIGHT I'M SO EXCITED GFDFGUIUGFDCFGH DON'T WORRY THOUGH THIS STORY HAS A LOT MORE CHAPTERS PLANNED! i know i'm very ambitious!! but i got a ton of cute stuff planned out for rosa and gina because they deserve SO much better than what i've put them through!!!


	25. chase you down and let me be your tomorrow tonight aka finally these two idiots are trying to do something to get their happy ever after (i feel like this is every single title of every single chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa finally flies into New York to see the love of her life (finally!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i started writing this at six in the morning and it's been rlly fun because i'm outside and sitting on a swing with my laptop and my camera and i've been watching the sunrise (which is BEAUTIFUL i highly recommend u watch the sunrise sometime in ur life because it's so pretty) and anyways i'm doing wonderful and this is serenity OH and also i listened to "tomorrow tonight" by loote on a loop while writing this, because that is the song that i am currently obsessed with!! go listen to it! i think it's a good fit for this chapter (kinda because it's all magical and dreamy)  
> anyways i hope u like this chapter! if im done rambling in the notes!

                                                                                                      

When Rosa gets on the next straight flight to New York, she’s trying not to scream for everyone to hurry up and walk _faster._ She nearly curses at the old man taking his sweet time to stuff carry-on into the overhead compartment, throwing her own bag down at her feet and waiting, _waiting_ for the stupid flight to take off.

She feels like yelling at the captain (who somehow turns out to be Jake’s _dad)_ , who recognizes her from pictures his son had sent him and stops for some idle chit-chat. Rosa doesn’t even attempt being polite as she tells him to get on with it. Captain Peralta isn’t flying in a hurry to see the love of his life, is he? If he were, then things would be going _much_ faster.

As soon as the airplane lifts off, Rosa opens up her phone to a few messages from Gina.

 

**Gina: u go to shaw’s?**

**Gina: so i checked the schedule and you’ll be here like near what? 7 / 8 here**

**Gina: so i dont know where u live**

**Gina: so meet at shaws?**

**Gina: if that’s cool w/ u**

**Gina: i can’t wait to see u rosie**

**Gina: finally**

 

Rosa cracks a smile, and it’s the first time she’s smiled, like, that entire _day._ She considers trying to hold the smile for the air hostess who’s coming around, but she drops it right as the old man next to her smiles.

 

**Rosa: yea shaw’s sounds good**

**Rosa: see u soon?**

 

She pulls a pair of headphones out and connects the to her phone, turning on some music. She puts her phone down in her lap and rests her head against the window. Rosa’s been on a lot of flights in her life. This feels like it’s just another flight; she’s just going to mentor some poor dancer for a week or two and then come home, maybe go travel for fun or something later on.

But it’s not just another flight. It’s… something different. It’s the beginning of what she hopes is her happy ever after. She deserves a happy ever after, right? Even if she is stone-cold and badass?

Rosa lets herself drift off, but she cracks open an eye every ten minutes or so to make sure that everything is in check. After an hour or so, Roger Peralta comes out of the cockpit and comes over to talk to her, which she’s not exactly thrilled about.

“Hey, Rosa!” he says, and Rosa frowns, because who gave _him_ first name privileges? “What’s up? How are things back in New York? Have you heard from Jake recently—”

“Dude,” she cut in, “your son hates you, _and_ he had like, a better dad now. _Two_ better dads, which he deserves, because you were a dick throughout his entire flight.” That seems to shut Roger up, and it nearly makes Rosa smile in spite of herself. “Now, don’t you have a plane to fly or something?”

“I’m actually on a break—” he starts to say, but Rosa shoos him away and returns to wallowing in her misery about how long the flight is, and also her elation about finally going to see Gina.

An hour later, Roger Peralta’s _annoying_ voice sounds over the speakers. “Attention, passengers, there has been, uh, a slight change. Instead of LaGuardia Airport, New York, our flight will be landing at John F. Kennedy Airport.”

Rosa screams (internally) because that’s just compromised _everything_ and she really wants to see Gina and LaGuardia is like, her fastest option. It’s _much_ quicker than JFK, where Homeland Security takes their sweet time and getting out and catching a taxi takes _ages_. 

Honestly, _fuck_ international airports. They all, well, suck. Especially O’Hare in Chicago on a hot summer day. The terminals are so fucking _confusing,_ but Rosa would rather land at O’Hare than JFK, because O’Hare has four terminals and JFK has about twice that. Who _needs_ that many terminals?

Well, Rosa would actually prefer landing at JFK, because Gina’s in New York, not Chicago. 

She closes her eyes and drowns herself in the music, waiting for the flight to land. Two hours later, it does, and Rosa’s left internally cursing all of the people who get up and struggle to crab their things from the overhead compartments. It’s so fucking _annoying._ They stand in the aisle and block Rosa’s path, and she’s half tempter to somersault over the seats and get out of the plane.

On the way out, she half-nods at Roger Peralta, who refuses to meet her eyes. Good.

And then security is a whole different story. At least she doesn’t get pulled this time for a “random” security check, but her bag is scrutinized at, until Rosa just wants to yell. She’s half tempted to tell them to open the bag up instead of putting it through the x-rays, which takes ten million hours, because Rosa knows she’s got a few tampons lying on top and she’d _pay_ to see the faces of the white male Homeland Security officers as they’d open up the bag.

But alas, she’s finally out of the airport and trying to hail a fucking taxi, which isn’t easy. Yeah. she’s lived in New York for most of her life, and she _definitely_ knows how to hail a taxi, but at JFK, it’s a little different. There are too many people, all trying to hail a taxi, and most of them don’t know _how_ to, which leaves the cab drivers very confused as to who _wants_ a taxi and who _doesn’t._

But finally, she’s in the back of a cab, directing the driver to speed up.

An hour later, she’s in the parking lot of her apartment. She doesn’t stop for anything as she grabs the keys to her car and climbs in to start it. Minutes later, she’s speeding through the familiar streets and towards Shaw’s bar, where Gina will surely be waiting for her.

And she parks her car hastily and get out, only stopping to look down at her outfit, fix her ponytail a little bit, and smooth out her black tank top. Rosa runs to Shaw’s and pushes past a group leaving, looking around hastily until her eyes land on Amy, and then Charles, and then Holt, and then _finally,_ Gina, who is sitting with Jake— ??

Gina is sitting with Jake— why is the squad here? Did they find out—

She shakes the thought from her head and ignores everyone as she rushes at Gina and full-on ambushes her, because she’s waited too long for this—

She wraps her arms around Gina’s waist and pulls her close, until their lips meet in flavors of ecstasy and exhaustion and beauty. _Finally._ Gina’s body curves up and presses against Rosa as she kisses her, and she cups Rosa’s face with her hands. Gina is warm, and she pulls Rosa closer and closer until they’re merely atoms apart.

And then they break away, breathing for air and staring at each other.

“Finally,” a monotone voice says besides them, and Rosa swiftly turns around to see Captain Holt holding a drink and looking at the two.

“Rosa?!” Jake interrupts. “And… _Gina?!_ ”

Amy just smiles brightly at the two.

“What do you mean?” Gina says, looking at Captain Holt, who shrugs.

“I’ve known about you two ever since it began,” he says, and Rosa frowns, looking at him questioningly. “It’s quite simple,” he continues. “Charles’s son Nikolaj—”

“ _Ni_ kolaj,” Charles corrects.

“As I was saying, Charles’s son could figure it out. Diaz was in Paris, where my husband, Kevin, was working at the time. I figured this out when I went to see the ballet that you two were in. Peralta had mentioned that his best friend was a dancer located in Paris, and he showed me a picture of Gina during a stakeout not so long ago, in which she was wearing a shade of lipstick that I believe she had been wearing during the ballet as well. Rosa was wearing the _same_ exact shade a few days later, and Rosa wouldn’t have bought that shade of lipstick, because while it does look good on her, Rosa is more prone to darker shades. Also, the brand is exclusively found in Paris. Therefore, I concluded that Gina had given Rosa the gift, and lipstick is a rather _intimate_ gift to give. Rosa and Gina have been communicating via email and text, because Rosa had been looking at her email and phone _much_ more often at work, and she was always smiling when she did so. Right after the ballet, Gina gave Rosa a rose, which Rosa has pressed and framed in her apartment—”

“How did you get into my apartment?!” Rosa interrupts with shock.

“Planning for the Halloween Heist,” Holt shrugs. “When Gina arrived at the precinct, she sat at Rosa’s desk and she is wearing the leather jacket that Rosa usually wears while she goes bowling. She also had her suitcase with her, which meant that she hadn’t checked into a hotel and therefore she had been impatient to see someone. This _someone,_ couldn’t have been Peralta, because while Gina played the charade that is _was,_ she seemed as surprised to see him as he did her. She stayed at Rosa’s desk the whole day, not even bothering to make conversation with anyone else. Furthermore, Rosa’s phone password is 4462, which spells out ‘GINA’—”

“How do you know my phone pass—”

“Halloween Heist planning,” Holt says, lifting his eyebrows at her. “Anyways,” he looks around at the entire squad, who are all nearly shell-shocked except for Amy, “it’s about time these two idiots finally came forward to confess their love, because they’ve been in love under everyone’s noses and it’s been killing me to not have said a single word.”

“What—” Gina says, looking up at Rosa.

Captain Holt pulls out his phone. “Kevin is going to be uttermost _thrilled_ with this update. He has been egging you two on ever since we connected the dots.”

“Uh, okay?” Rosa mumbles, because she isn’t really sure of what to say. She looks down to Gina and it takes all of the self-restraint left in her body to not dip down and kiss her. “You wanna go?”

“Of course,” Gina says, and they push past everyone and head out. Gina waves to everyone, and they step out of the bar and into the parking lot and to Rosa’s car.

“I love you, Rosa,” Gina says, and she’s smiling.

“I love you too,” Rosa says, and she’s grinning widely, despite how tired she is, because it’s the first time they’ve said “I love you” face to face in person. And it sure as hell feels special. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer i dont think ive ever been to either laguardia or jfk airport but i hAVE been to o'hare many MANY times so i can speak to the terminals. there are four. they're all confusing as hell. so i cant imagine how eight terminals at jfk would be. ive been lost in airports many many times and i dont know how to hail taxis. airports are majestic as hell but they're also very terrifying but also they are magical but also they are. scary. u get lost once, u get lost forever. your soul gets sucked away forever.  
> also this isn't the end!!! i still have more planned for rosa and gina, okay!!!!!! there's still more stuff that's gonna happen!!! ily!
> 
> ALSO did u notice how i said that gina's wearing the leather jacket that rosa usually goes bowling in?????? and previously THAT was the jacket that rosa had pulled out the bowling receipt for gina to write down her email????????? and that's the jacket that rosa gave gina?????????????????? im so smart lmao


	26. sometimes home is where the love of your life is! and for rosa and gina, that's right now!!!!! can u BELIEVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa and Gina are definitely on a high!! and the drug is love!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi it's me i'm back on my trash!!! also did u see the cover for this fic isn't it beautiful!!! credit to @staticobra.art on insta for making the cover bc it's so beautiful and i love it

                                                                                                     

Rosa Diaz is finally happy because after an entire day of being on an airplane, she’s back home where she belongs, in Brooklyn. Plus, she’s with the love of her life, so yeah, life feels good. She’s extremely exhausted, but she doesn’t really care, because she’s got a solution.

“Wait here for a second?” Rosa says to Gina. Gina simply nods and gets into the car, watching as Rosa crosses the parking lot back to Shaw’s.

As soon as Rosa steps into the bar, she’s grabbed by the arms and pulled forward into the middle of the squad. They all peer at her with excited looks on their faces, apart from Amy and Holt, who are just staring at her proudly. Rosa blinks a few times, not processing anything, but the questions ring through her head as soon as they pop up one by one. 

“How did you and Gina meet!”

“What’s your ship name gonna be?”

“Have you two washed each other’s hair yet?”

Rosa wrinkles her nose and pushes past Charles. “Never ask me that _ever_ again. I’m taking no questions at this time, but Gina will tell you the whole story maybe later. Can I get some espresso shots? Maybe five or six?”

The squad buzzes with excitement right behind Rosa as she leans against the bar and waits for her espresso shots. She can feel a small smile growing on her face, but she fights it with all of her might as Jake makes his way to stand right next to her.

He looks frantic and tired; the corner of his eye twitches and he raggedly drags his hand through his hair. Rosa opens her mouth to say something, because Jake doesn’t look really good— in fact, he looks worse than _her_ , and she’s been weaving through planes and airports and time-zones all day.

“I’m bisexual,” he blurts before Rosa can say anything, and she’s almost taken aback by his outburst. 

“I— hold on,” Rosa says, holding up her hand. She throws her head back and picks up her espresso shots one by one, downing them all one after the other. “M’kay, feels better. So you were saying?”

“I— I’m bisexual. I think. I don’t know. What if I’m not, and I just think that I am?” He looks around frantically and Rosa sees his eyes land on Amy for a millisecond. “I mean, I’m married to a _woman_ and she’s the love of my life so I can’t be bisexual, right?”

“Being married to someone of the opposite gender doesn’t make you any less bi,” Rosa tells him gently.

“I’m just— how do I tell Amy? I’m kinda— I _just_ figured out this whole new thing about me and it’s _really_ freaking me out. So I thought I’d tell you, you know, because _you’re_ bi too?” Jake looks so lost, so helpless, that Rosa has to bite back a tear seeing how _broken_ he looks. So she puts a hand on Jake arm, and they sit down as Rosa mulls over what she wants to tell him.

“Thank you for telling me,” she starts out with, because she owes Jake _so_ much, after him helping her come out to her own parents. “It’s kind of a big step to take. I get that.

“In my case, it’s attraction. What makes me bisexual is the fact that I’m _attracted_ to my own gender and other genders. It’s not about who you end up with, because love is _basically_ just chance. You can meet just about anyone off of the street, and there’s no knowing _who_ you’ll fall in love with at the end of the day. Maybe that’s Amy for you, and maybe that’s Gina for me.

“But being with someone of the opposite gender doesn’t make you any less bi. And being with someone of the same gender doesn’t make you any less bi, either. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been with someone of the same gender or the opposite gender or anyone at all. It’s about _you._ ” Rosa looks down to see Jake gripping her hand quite tightly. “You good, dude?”

Jake loosens his grip, and in the dim light, she can see a few tears dripping down his cheeks. “Yeah,” he manages to say. “I— I really needed that. Thank you, Rosa.” And he pulls her in for a tight hug.

“Love you, dude.”

“I love you too, Rosa.” He lets go of her and manages to laugh, wiping away at his tears like crazy. “Hey, uh, you should go, right? Gina’s probably waiting?”

Rosa smiles. “Yeah, she is.”

“Treat her good. I mean, I know you _will_ , obviously, but like, still. You guys make a _great_ couple. I can’t believe I only _just_ found out.”

“There seems to be a lot you’re _just_ finding out,” Rosa says, and Jake laughs, pushing her out towards the door. 

Rosa stumbles through the parking lot, her face illuminated by the bright street lights above. She walks to her car with a little skip to her step— the espresso shots seem to be working. As soon as Rosa gets into the car, she doesn’t even register what’s happening because warm hands are on her face and pulling her over until her bitter lips meet Gina’s sweet chapstick-covered ones— 

Rosa gasps for air as soon as they break away. “Took you long enough,” Gina grins. “How many espresso shots did you have?”

“Six,” Rosa breathes.

“ _Damn_ , girl!” Gina whistles. “So, anyone ask you any questions about us?”

“Uh, yeah, but I ignored them,” Rosa says. “You didn’t tell me that you _knew_ them? How?”

“Well, _you_ didn’t tell them that _you_ knew them!” Gina exclaims. “Jake’s been my best friend since like, _childhood._ We’ve known each other since freaking _birth_.”

“I went to training academy with him. And I work with him now.”

“Actually,” Gina cocks her head to the side, deep in thought, “I think he’s mentioned you? Maybe. He’s talked about this badass who always carries like a million knives with her and never talks about her personal life. But I don’t think I’ve actually really given it any attention to it, because I’ve alway been busy moving around and dancing.” She cracks open a window as Rosa twists the keys. The car roars to life as Rosa raises an eyebrow and looks over at Gina.

“Really? I don’t think he’s ever brought you up. To be fair, when we hang out, it’s mostly drinking in silence, shooting in silence, watching a movie in silence, catching a perp in silence— you get it. It’s why he’s my closest friend ever,” Rosa says, backing out of the parking lot. She catches a glimpse of Charles and Amy out of the corner of her eye, waving at them ecstatically. Gina rolls down the window and waves glamorously at them. Rosa rolls her eyes affectionately and speeds out of the lot and onto the road.

“Where to?” 

Gina shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean, as much as I’m _thrilled_ to see your apartment and the rose you have framed that I gave you, I also really wanna, you know, drive around with you for a while.”

“Highways it is,” Rosa decides, and she pushes her foot down on the gas pedal. The car rockets forward and Gina presses a few buttons on her phone until loud music is playing. 

“Melodrama. Lorde,” Gina says. “One of the best albums to exist on the face of the earth.”

Rosa nods. “Agreed.”

And the windows are all rolled down; the wind howls along with Gina and the music as they coast down the highway at dead night. Gina throws her arms out of the window and sticks her head out, whooping at the streetlights as Rosa pushes down on the gas pedal even further.

She glances over at Gina from time to time as she drives, laughing as Gina’s eyes meet her own. They glint dangerously blue in the dim light, and for a moment, Gina looks like a madwoman— reckless, bold, ready to stick her entire body out of the window as she laughs maniacally along to the beat of “Perfect Places” by Lorde— and that’s when Rosa realizes that she might as well be in love with a madwoman, and she doesn’t care in the least because it’s _Gina._

And for a moment _Rosa_ becomes a madwoman, because she’s driving recklessly without a care in the world because her eyes long to be on Gina rather than the long-stretching road in front of them. Rosa abruptly slams her foot down on the brakes and skids to a stop at the side of the road. She leans over and and cups Gina’s face with her hands, breathlessly kissing her like they’re in a hurry; running away from something. They’re drowning in each other’s lips and the loud music still shaking through the speakers, and Rosa makes a wish. 

_I wish everything could be like this forever._

What she doesn’t know, is that Gina’s just made a similar wish.

_I wish Rosa and I are together forever._

When they break apart a few minutes later, Gina notes the dark circles around Rosa’s eyes. Her eyelids droop and she fights to keep them open; to look at Gina and smile. “Let’s go home,” Gina suggests quietly.

“Home?” The word hangs at the tip of Rosa’s tongue; she says it as if it’s foreign to her.

“Home.”

And the music turns softer and the street lights look dimmer and everything seems more peaceful; more quiet. The night seems iridescent and if Rosa pulled the car over and got out, she would surely be able to see a hundred thousand stars filling up the sky.

But Rosa doesn’t _need_ to get out of the car in order to see a star, because one is sitting right next to her. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi it's me and i don't know what to say  
> please yell at me or something because i need to feel the emotions of writing again


	27. can gina literally stay in new york like literally can she just like stay and live with rosa forever and ever happily after CAN she?????

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> good night :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while since i've even thought about this and i had to reread the whole thing to remember what was happening  
> anyways thanks it's been a long time since i've written because you know school hits like a storm sometimes and on a more personal note u start failing ur best subject for some reason bc ur teacher is mean and then u turn in a v gay essay but u have to make sure it's SO good that ur teacher has literally no way of criticizing it bc it's gay and then ur teacher just like doesnt grade it at all and ur left hanging,,, wondering if that essay was even good enough or just a figment of ur imagination whoops  
> anyways go listen to waves by luna shadows it's what i listened to while writing this bye

                                                                     

The door creaks open in the silence of the night as Rosa stuffs her key back into her pocket and pulls Gina by the hand into the depths of her apartment. A light flickers on when Rosa hits the switch, illuminating the place and momentarily blinding the two women.

Rosa’s apartment is absolutely and totally trashed. A pillow and blanket is crumpled up on the floor by the couch. The TV remote and DVDs are strewn on the coffee table. In the kitchen, there are dishes lying on the counters. They’re all clean; Rosa just hadn’t found time to put them away. 

Rosa winces. She usually keeps her apartment clean, but the past few days before Paris _had_ been a totally stressful disaster. Still, she wishes he had at least cleaned up a little bit. Rosa knows her bedroom is even worse. Packing for Paris? Rosa had torn apart her room. The way she remembers it, everything is probably still falling out of the closet and everything is probably on the floor.

Gina lets out a low whistle. “ _Damn,_ girl. This is kinda even worse than the way I left _my_ apartment.” She walks around, looking at the DVDs, until her eyes land on something on the wall. “Is this?” 

Rosa nods. “Yeah. It is.”  She watches Gina lift a hand to touch the smooth glass frame covering the single pressed rose inside of it. Rosa’s eyes mist up a little bit— she recalls Gina handing her the bright red rose moments after their first kiss— on stage in front of hundreds of people in Paris. She remembers the warmth of the hug she had pressed Gina into right after, and suddenly, Rosa has an overwhelming urge to cross the room and pull Gina into a hug.

She refrains, however, and starts picking stuff up around the kitchen as Gina further explores Rosa’s apartment. Rosa watches out of the corner of her eye, trying not to smile as she straightens the vase of lemons perched on top of the counter.

Gina lets out an impressive yawn as she walks over to join Rosa in the kitchen. She leans into Rosa as she rests her elbows on the counter, and Rosa smiles slightly before gently raking a hand through Gina’s hair. “Sleep,” Gina mutters, “sounds like the most amazing thing in the whole entire universe right about now.”

So Rosa takes Gina’s hand and leads her to the bedroom, reeling back in shock for only a moment as she takes in the mess. She quickly recovers and darts around the room, picking things up and throwing clothes back into the closet. Gina almost immediately collapses on Rosa’s bed.

“This pillow smells like you,” Gina murmurs, already half asleep. “I could just lie here _forever._ Who cares about twitter followers. Screw them.”

“Do you want to like, shower and change?” Rosa asks, glancing over to Gina. 

Gina drags her head up from the pillow and makes the effort to open her eyes. “Yes. There was a reason I made you leave my suitcase in the car, and the reason is that your clothes generally look better on me. Hit me with something, Diaz.” She peels off Rosa’s leather jacket and drops it on the floor next to the bed.

“Okay.” Rosa pulls out a balled-up t-shirt and throws it to Gina. Gina unfolds it to find that it’s a police training academy t-shirt. She grins.

“I already have like two of these shirts. This one’s going in my collection.”

Rosa lifts an eyebrow. “Two? From _where_?”

“One from Jake,” Gina says.

“And the other?”

“Oh, my own.”

Rosa stares after Gina as Gina winks and disappears into the bathroom, leaving Rosa to mull over this new information. Had Gina gone to police training academy? Was she going to become a cop with Jake? And if so, what had stopped her? What had led her to become a dancer instead?

Rosa’s so lost in her questions that she doesn’t even notice how much time passes, until Gina reappears in the bedroom, dressed in Rosa’s t-shirt and shorts. 

Rosa tries not to stare too much as she pushes past Gina and into the bathroom to take a warm shower, something she’s _really_ missed in the past twenty-four hours.

Twenty minutes later, she’s carefully sliding under the mound of blankets that Gina’s buried under, doing her best to not wake Gina up. Gina’s breathing is slow and steady. Rosa expects lying this close to Gina should put butterflies in her stomach, but they never come. Instead, a warm, rainbow-ey joyous feeling settles in her heart and she feels so content; so happy— all because of this bright and enigmatic dancer that she had met by chance.

Love is a like a muffin— warm, buttery, and tasteful— and Rosa doesn’t hate it. Maybe she even _loves_ the feeling of being in love. She never wants it to go away. Gradually, the soft sound of Gina’s breathing carries Rosa off and into the gentle arms of sleep.

She awakes in the morning to the sound of a thud. Rosa opens her eyes and sits up at an alarming speed, only to see Gina still lying in bed, half asleep. She’s feeling around on the bedside table (thus, the sound of the thud), muttering, “where the hell is my phone?”

Rosa rubs the sleep out of her eyes and gazes down fondly at Gina before turning to her own bedside table and handing Gina the phone with the bedazzled case. “Morning.”

“Haven’t checked twitter in _days_ ,” Gina groans, dropping her phone on her face, “my followers probably think I’m _dead_.”

“Last night you said to ‘screw your followers to hell’ because you were too tired,” Rosa recalls, grinning at Gina. “Must’ve changed your mind about that, then.”

“Mhmm.”

Rosa sits in silence as Gina thumbs through text messages and tweets, looking through everything she had missed in the past day. After about half an hour, Gina sets her phone back down and sits up.

“So, what do you typically eat for breakfast?” Gina asks. “You don’t seem like a smiley-face pancakes type of person.”

Rosa raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“Jake’s mom used to make them a lot,” Gina explains. 

Rosa shrugs. “I’m not _opposed_ to smiley-face pancakes. I think I have waffles in the freezer, though.”

“Okay. Sounds cool.”

Breakfast passes by quickly. Gina tells stories about her travels, and Rosa hangs onto every single word, even though she;s been to most of the places that Gina so vividly describes. Rosa nods her head and laughs and listens and she realizes that she could spend the rest of eternity listening to Gina talk, and it would make her happy.

And then, Gina says something which makes Rosa’s euphoric world stop.

“You know, I’m gonna have to go back to Paris.”

Rosa’s face falls.

“Just for a little bit,” Gina continues, “I’m really thinking about moving back to Brooklyn, but I’m gonna have to go back to Paris for a while. I mean, I was planning on moving again anyways, so it’ll just be back to New York to be with you. I’m sure that the American Ballet Academy will be _thrilled_ to meet my acquaintance.”

Rosa’s mouth goes dry and she downs the rest of her coffee. “When are you leaving?” she asks, wiping her mouth, hoping for the answer to be “in a week,” or “in a month.”

Gina’s answer comes casually. 

“Tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry pls dont hurt me im baby

**Author's Note:**

> time for me to tell u some random unprompted facts about myself: i love rosa diaz, i love gina linetti, and i love dianetti.  
> hope u enjoyed this!! comments and kudos are always very much appreciated because i worked very hard on this (yes i'm in constant need of validation) and if you ever sometimes go on tumblr you could maybe follow me @darkrosemind  
> also if you have not listened to superstar by broods, then i am begging you to go and listen to it because i love that song to death and it's just so good.
> 
> ALSO HI!!! 8/6/19 update: this fic now has cover art!!!!!! made by my amazing and talented friend [@staticobra.art](https://www.instagram.com/staticobra.art/?hl=en) on instagram!!!


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